Ibrahima Konate’s own-goal plus goals from Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo saw Brentford beat Liverpool 3-1 to go seventh in the Premier League.
Konate’s 19th minute deflected own-goal via Ben Mee’s flick-on from a corner saw Brentford take an unexpected lead, having largely been outplayed in the opening 18 minutes.
Wissa then saw two goals ruled offside but duly doubled the Bees’ lead with a 42nd minute header from Mathias Jensen’s cross.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reduced Liverpool’s deficit with a 50th minute header from Mohamed Salah’s cross, following three substitutions at half-time.
Brentford wrapped up victory with a 84th minute strike from Mbeumo which saw the Bees climb to seventh in the league table, just two points behind sixth-placed Liverpool who missed the chance to go fifth.
Between both teams, there were five changes in total from wins over West Ham and Leicester respectively on Friday (29 December), with Ivan Toney and Jordan Henderson the biggest absentees due to a respective knee injury and concussion.
Liverpool though seemed the least impacted without Henderson as Mathias Jørgensen fouled Darwin Nunez to concede a second minute free-kick, from which Trent Alexander-Arnold won a corner which ultimately fell for Virgil Van Dijk to shoot but David Raya made a crucial block.
Brentford again were under threat six minutes later as Salah teed up Nunez into the box, only for Ben Mee to block the Uruguayan’s shot.
Wissa was the first Brentford player to create a strong chance in the 13th minute, as he pounced upon Mathias Jensen’s long ball, only to softly volley his shot into Alisson’s arms before he then fired over just minutes later.
Wissa then combined with Mbeumo in the 18th minute as he unleashed a pass which Mbeumo fired upon goal, only for Alisson to block to concede a corner from which Mee flicked in via Konate’s deflection to put the Bees ahead.
Liverpool almost equalised in the 24th minute as Nunuez teed up an unmarked Oxlade-Chamberlain, who could only unleash his shot straight into Raya and the Spaniard crucially blocked to keep Brentford ahead.
Jensen two minutes later almost doubled the Bees’ lead but his shot was blocked and Alisson spilled the consequential corner, which Wissa rifled in from close-range but the goal was ruled offside.
Wissa then saw a 39th minute strike from another corner denied due to Mee being in an offside position following a VAR check, as Liverpool struggled with Brentford’s fast-paced counter-attacks and set-piece play.
Jurgen Klopp though was left with a headache as Jensen curled in a direct cross from the right which found Wissa to nod in just over the goal line to double the hosts’ lead at half-time, despite Alisson’s punched clearance.
Klopp responded with three substitutions at the break as Van Dijk, Konstantinos Tsimikas and Harvey Elliott were all hooked, with Joel Matip, Andrew Robertson and Naby Keita all sent on to try and turn Liverpool’s fortunes around.
His gamble looked to had quickly played off as Liverpool upped their intensity at the start of the second-half, as Nunez produced a 48th minute chipped goal, which was swiftly ruled offside by VAR due to Nunez leaning too forward on his run from Thiago’s pass.
Brentford though were punished for another sluggish start just two minutes later as Oxlade-Chamberlain nodded in from Salah’s right-flank cross to reduce the visitors’ deficit.
Salah and Fabinho soon afterwards saw shots denied by brilliant saves from Raya who preserved Brentford’s lead, as the Reds continued to press Brentford’s organised defence around the pitch.
Brentford though were able to hold out and ultimately punished Liverpool with a 84th minute attack, which saw Mbeumo dispossesse Konate as they chased a long ball and calmly fired in to secure victory which lifted the Bees up to seventh.
What’s Next?
Both teams will now be in FA Cup action on Saturday 7 January, as Brentford host West Ham in a 5:30pm GMT kick-off, whilst Liverpool take on Wolves at Anfield as the Reds kick off their FA Cup title defence live on ITV4 in a 8pm GMT kick-off.
Teams
Brentford: David Raya, Mads Roerslev, Mathias Jørgensen, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock, Rico Henry (Sorensen 90+6′), Christian Norgaard, Vitaly Janelt (Ghoddos 87′), Mathias Jensen (Dasilva 74′), Bryan Mbeumo (Canos 88′), Yoane Wissa (Lewis-Potter 74′)
Substitutes: Thomas Strakosha, Sergi Canos, Josh Dasilva, Saman Ghoddos, Keane Lewis-Potter, Mikkel Damsgaard, Mads Bech Sorensen, Tristian Crama, Ryan Trevitt
Liverpool: Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk (Matip 45′), Konstantinos Tsimikas (Robertson 45′), Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott (Keita 45′), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Jones 83′), Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez
Substitutes: Caoimhin Kelleher, Joe Gomez, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Andrew Robertson, Fabio Carvalho, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Nat Phillips
Referee: Stuart Attwell
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