Premier League: Brentford vs. Liverpool 3-1

Brentford beat Liverpool 3-1 to take seven points from a possible nine on Christmas Day and climb to seventh in the Premier League.

A disastrous first half proved fatal for Liverpool as Brentford secured a convincing 3-1 victory over the Reds in the Premier League at the Gtech Community Stadium.

With Jurgen Klopp’s charges in the first leg, Brentford scored twice at half-time with own goals from Ibrahima Konate and Yoane Wissa canceling out two more goals.

Liverpool struggled briefly in the second half, reducing the deficit through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Bryan Mbeumo added a third for the Bees as Liverpool succumbed to a deserved defeat.

Ironically, just days after scoring two Wout Faes own goals, Liverpool suffered a similar fate with just 19 minutes remaining, the first of a series of defensive errors from set pieces at Brentford.

Mbeumo missed Ben Mee after a sharp corner, but the ball caught the leg of the blocked Konate, still after the World Cup, and he dribbled down the line despite Alisson Becker’s best efforts.

Brentford fared surprisingly well in Ivan Toney’s absence, dominating Liverpool on all fronts as a stunned Klopp watched his players at sea.

Thomas Frank’s name rang out at the Gtech Community Stadium as his side broke through the Liverpool defense twice more as Wiss headed in a free-kick in the 27th minute, but the flag was immediately penalized for offside.

The former Lorient man quickly turned and thought he had his second chance in the 39th minute when he curled in a superb half-volley from a corner, but the ball was deflected into the net offside and Mee found the ball. excluded from the check.

Wissa’s expression said it all, but Liverpool just wouldn’t wake up and were finally punished again in the 42nd minute when Mathias Jensen sent in a cross for Wissa, who else, to head over the line.

Alisson managed to clear the ball, but only after it had already crossed the line, and the home crowd found it hard to believe his team’s level of performance combined with the Reds’ surrender.

Apart from a couple of David Raya receptions, Liverpool only had one chance of note in the first half when Mohamed Salah beat Darwin Núñez in the eighth minute, but the ball just didn’t go to the Uruguayan who went past Raya but slotted home. . : Null effort brilliantly blocked by Mee.

A trio of changes at half-time did not surprise Liverpool, as Klopp removed Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott and, interestingly, Virgil van Dijk, while Andrew Robertson, Naby Keita and Joel Matip came on as substitutes.

Just three minutes into the second half, Núñez thought he had written his wasteful history after accepting a pass from Thiago and knocking Ray into the net, but he left too soon as the game was not his third. Legal door saw.

Nevertheless, all of Klopp’s half-time tirades clearly unsettled his team and they went one back in the 50th minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold headed home Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross.

Brentford spent much of the second half camped out in and around their box as Liverpool huffed and puffed after the equaliser, but Raya received adequate protection from their defence, who cleverly limited the space behind them.

However, the Bees had no trouble exposing Liverpool’s weak defense and seemingly ended the game in the 84th minute when Christian Norgaard’s ball went past Konate but was ignored by Mbeumo. who passed quietly by Alisson’s house.

Klopp’s charges were outraged, believing Konate to have been fouled, but VAR saw nothing wrong with Mbeum’s push and Liverpool had no reply six minutes into added time.

Liverpool missed the chance to put pressure on the top four to remain sixth in the table ahead of their FA Cup third-round clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Brentford, who face West Ham United this weekend, are seventh and just two points behind. Reds despite the game more.

Lineups:

Brentford (3-5-2): 

Raya; Roerslev, Zanka, Pinnock, Mee, Henry (Bech 90+6); Norgaard, Janelt (Ghoddos 88), Jensen (Dasilva 73); Mbeumo (Canos 88), Wissa (Lewis-Potter 73)

Subs not used: Strakosha, Damsgaard, Crama, Trevitt

Liverpool (4-3-3): 

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk (Matip 46), Tsimikas (Robertson 46); Fabinho, Elliott (Keita 46), Thiago; Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Jones 83), Nunez

Subs not used: Adrian, Gomez, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Phillips

Scorers:

Bookings:

Man of the Match : Bryan Mbeumo  (Brentford)

Match Stats: