Brentford 3-1 Liverpool: Bees punish Reds' sloppy first-half performance

Liverpool missed the chance to edge closer to the Premier League top four as Brentford punished their defensive frailties in a deserved victory at the Community Stadium.

In a desperate first half, Liverpool shipped two poor goals amid an inspired performance from the hosts.

The opener came when Ibrahima Konate deflected a corner into his own net after 19 minutes.

Liverpool were unable to deal with Brentford's set-pieces, conceding twice more from corners in the first half only for both goals to be ruled out for offside.

Moments after the second disallowed effort from Yoane Wissa, the Bees striker headed in after Liverpool had sloppily given the ball away.

A triple half-time change from a visibly frustrated Reds' manager Jurgen Klopp, including replacing captain Virgil van Dijk, had the desired effect and Liverpool pulled one back through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain within five minutes of the restart.

At that stage the momentum seemed to be with Liverpool, but Brentford weathered the storm.

With six minutes left, Bryan Mbeumo sealed an impressive success, brushing off Konate in pursuit of a long ball before slotting home.

Brentford are now unbeaten in six games - their best run in the top-flight for more than 80 years - and climb to seventh.

Liverpool, who would have been a point off fourth with a win, stay sixth and two points clear of the Bees.

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Brentford

Squad number1Player nameRaya

Squad number13Player nameM Jorgensen

Squad number5Player namePinnock

Squad number16Player nameMee

Squad number30Player nameRoerslev

Squad number8Player nameJensen

Squad number6Player nameNørgaard

Squad number27Player nameJanelt

Squad number3Player nameHenry

Squad number19Player nameMbeumo

Squad number11Player nameWissa

Squad number7Player nameCanós

Squad number10Player nameDasilva

Squad number14Player nameGhoddos

Squad number23Player nameLewis-Potter

Squad number29Player nameBech Sørensen

Liverpool

Line-ups

Brentford

Formation 3-5-2

1Raya

13M Jorgensen5Pinnock16Mee

30Roerslev8Jensen6Nørgaard27Janelt3Henry

19Mbeumo11Wissa

Substitutes

Liverpool

Formation 4-3-3

1Alisson

66Alexander-Arnold5Konaté4van Dijk21Tsimikas

19Elliott3Fabinho6Thiago Alcántara

11Salah27Núñez15Oxlade-Chamberlain

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Brentford 3, Liverpool 1.

Second Half ends, Brentford 3, Liverpool 1.

Offside, Brentford. Zanka tries a through ball, but Keane Lewis-Potter is caught offside.

Substitution, Brentford. Mads Bech Sørensen replaces Rico Henry.

Curtis Jones (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Zanka (Brentford).

Foul by Fabinho (Liverpool).

Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Joël Matip (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Sergi Canós (Brentford).

Attempt blocked. Naby Keïta (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Substitution, Brentford. Sergi Canós replaces Bryan Mbeumo.

Substitution, Brentford. Saman Ghoddos replaces Vitaly Janelt because of an injury.

Goal! Brentford 3, Liverpool 1. Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal following a fast break.

Substitution, Liverpool. Curtis Jones replaces Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Foul by Fabinho (Liverpool).

Rico Henry (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt missed. Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold with a cross following a corner.

Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Rico Henry.

Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Ben Mee.

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