Brentford 3-2 Liverpool: Bees hand Reds their fourth consecutive league defeat

Liverpool suffered their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat as Brentford outfought and outclassed them to deservedly earn a 3-2 victory.

Match Report

Keith Andrews' side put Liverpool's penalty area under siege with a flurry of long throws in the first half, with the very first of them resulting in a goal.

Michael Kayode's hurl from the left flank was flicked on by Kristoffer Ajer at the near post, allowing Dango Ouattara to acrobatically steer home from close quarters.

Florian Wirtz then missed a good chance to get Liverpool level, and Brentford went 2-0 up in the 45th minute as Mikkel Damsgaard's sublime through-ball set up Kevin Schade for a one-v-one finish.

Liverpool got back within one on the stroke of half-time, with Milos Kerkez turning Conor Bradley's cross home as Brentford complained that the half-time whistle had not gone.

But rather than wilt, Brentford struck back in the second period.

Virgil van Dijk's challenge on Ouattara was initially deemed to have taken place outside the box and given as a free-kick by referee Tim Robinson, who had to replace the injured Simon Hooper at half-time, but a VAR review found it was on the line and Brentford were awarded a penalty, which Igor Thiago converted.

Mohamed Salah, who was back in the starting fold after being benched against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, gave Liverpool hope with a brilliant touch and finish in the 89th minute, though he could not turn home at the back post when presented with their best chance to level 11 minutes into stoppage time.

Liverpool finish Saturday sixth in the table and could drop further behind the leading pack by the end of the weekend.

Data Debrief: Another upset for long-throw specialists

Brentford have now won 33% of their games against the reigning Premier League champions (three of nine). Among all teams to play more than two seasons in the competition, only Manchester United (44%), Liverpool (39%) and Manchester City (38%) have a better win percentage in such matches.

Ouattara's opener set them on their way, and Brentford have now scored eight Premier League goals from throw-ins since the start of 2024-25, more than twice as many as any other side.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have now lost as many Premier League games in 2025-26 as they did across the entirety of last season. 

They are just the fourth reigning Premier League champions to lose four consecutive games after Leicester City in 2016-17 (five), Liverpool themselves in 2020-21 and Man City last season (four). Those sides finished 12th, third and third, respectively.

Salah's wonderful late strike proved a mere consolation, though he is now just one goal away from hitting 250 for Liverpool, while his next Premier League goal involvement will take him joint-third in the all-time charts, alongside Frank Lampard (279), and level with Wayne Rooney (276) for Premier League goal contributions for one club.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

5' GOAL! Ouattara opens scoring with a wonderful finish! Brentford 1-0 Liverpool

19' CLOSE! Ekitike's backheel is blocked and then Wirtz fizzes a shot an inch wide

21' Cody Gakpo curls in a lovely cross which Ekitike glances just wide

24' Cody Gakpo gets half a yard before curling over from outside the box

27' Kerkez makes a brilliant run down the left, but his cross straight at the keeper

32' Henderson drags his shot about a yard or two wide

38' Match Event for Brentford vs Liverpool

39' Another Brentford long throw and Mamardashvili punches the ball away

41' Some crosses into the middle headed away until Jones shoots straight at Kelleher

45' GOAL! Reds lose possession and Schade doubles the lead! Brentford 2-0 Liverpool

45' Gakpo goes down in the box but the referee says no penalty

46' Referee Simon Hooper is injured and the fourth official replaces him

50' GOAL! Kerkez pulls one back before the half-time! Brentford 2-1 Liverpool

53' Schade finds Thiago whose shot is denied by Mamardashvili

60' Penalty Goal! Igor scores following Van Dijk's foul! Brentford 3-1 Liverpool

65' Ouattara is completely free in the middle but heads a cross off target

83' Salah has a classic curler from the edge of box, but this one flies into stands

84' Almost 4-1! Ouattara nods the ball just wide

88' GOAL! Salah smashes in a volley in off the bar! Brentford 3-2 Liverpool

Line-ups

Brentford XI: Henderson, Kristoffer Ajer, Kelleher, Mikkel Damsgaard, Van den Berg, Nathan Collins, Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago, Yegor Yarmolyuk, Dango Ouattara, Michael Kayode

Subs: Rico Henry, Mathias Jensen, Janelt, Nelson, Ethan Pinnock, Frank Onyeka, Hákon Valdimarsson, Fabio Carvalho, Keane Lewis-Potter

Liverpool XI: Salah, Van Dijk, Konate, Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Hugo Ekitiké, Conor Bradley, Milos Kerkez, Wirtz

Subs: Endo, Robertson, Freddie Woodman, Joe Gomez, Chiesa, Mac Allister, Trey Nyoni, Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha