Brentford 1-2 Liverpool: Reds fight back to win at brave nine-man Bees

Liverpool’s hero Alexander Isak has been talking about their win, and his goal, and he looks relieved.

Isak said it was a scrappy game and Brentford made it a fight but it was a superb victory for his team.

His fine finish, thanks to two quick touches after Barcola’s header, was the difference.

“It was more about concentration,” Isak said of his winning goal. “I didn’t have too many chances and I was waiting for my moment. That was the one. I just tried to get control of the ball and finish as quickly as possible and luckily it went in.”

Asked about the gradual improvement of Liverpool, Isak was positive about the direction they are heading in.

“There is still lots to improve but we are taking steps and obviously grabbing points on the way which is important. It is a tough place to come to so three points is really good,” Isak added.

Rio Ngumoha races away and Janelt takes him out on the edge of the Brentford box.

That’s a clear second yellow for Janelt and he’s off.

With a few minutes of stoppage time to go, Brentford are down to nine players.

Bradley Barcola is so close to grabbing a goal, which would have wrapped things up.

A cheeky curled lob hits the crossbar and comes back out.

Liverpool so close to a third goal.

Brentford suddenly get in down the left and Anthony whips in a lovely low cross to the front post.

Igor Thiago can’t get clean contact on his effort and Liverpool scramble it clear.

Brentford so close to making it 2-2 and that suggests they will just go for it now. Why not?

They have absolutely nothing to lose.

That was coming and Liverpool are ahead at Brentford.

A ball to the back post is nodded back in expertly by Bradley Barcola to Alexander Isak.

Thew Swedish forward takes one touch and finishes clinically across goal.

Lovely two touches from Isak and Liverpool are ahead. Brentford just couldn’t stop Liverpool building up pressure.

That was peak Isak for his fifth Premier League goal of the season.

That is a lovely finish from Victor Munoz and Liverpool are finally level.

After being set free by Florian Wirtz he cuts in from the right and curls home a low beauty.

1-1 and it’s all Liverpool now.

Can Brentford hang on for a point with 25 minutes, plus stoppage time, to go?

Frimpong is down with an injury to what looks like his left leg or hip.

He went down and stayed down.

Rio Ngumoha is on for Liverpool, who have lost Frimpong and Szoboszlai to injury now.

And they still trail 1-0 with just over an hour to go.

Liverpool make a change at half time with Jeremie Frimpong on for Ronald Araujo.

That makes sense given how this second half should pan out.

Brentford bring on Sangare and Schade for Jensen and Ouattara.

The Bees are in a very solid 4-4-1 formation with Sangare and Janelt shielding the back four.

Igor Thiago is up top with Schade and Anthony providing pace on the break out wide for Brentford.

Jeremy Jacquet is going through it today.

Just a few minutes into the second half and Igor Thiago swings his elbow out and catches Jacquet.

Only a yellow for Thiago. That was risky though.

Brentford could have been down to nine men...

What has he done!?

With a corner about to come in, Jeremy Jacquet squares up to Yehor Yarmoliuk in the penalty box.

Before the ball comes in the Brentford midfielder stands his ground and puts his head in to the head of Jacquet.

It’s technically a head butt and Jaquet goes down.

Play is stopped and VAR asks the ref to go to the monitor. He decides it is a red card.

There isn’t much contact but it’s a clear red.

Also, no penalty to Liverpool as the ball wasn’t in play from the corner when Yarmoliuk made contact.

This is going to be a really tough second half for Brentford now.

Moments after Liverpool’s penalty kick award was overturned, Brentford take the lead.

Igor Thiago was given way too much time on the edge of the box and he gets his head up and clips a lovely cross in to the penalty spot.

Keane Lewis-Potter arrives from left back at the perfect moment and he guides a wonderful header into the far corner to put Brentford 1-0 up.

The home fans go bonkers and so does their manager Keith Andrews.

Andoni Iraola is trying to get his Liverpool side going again on the sidelines but that is a big goal at a very important time of the game.

Liverpool have been awarded a penalty kick just before half time.

Alexis Mac Allister goes down in the box as Dango Ouattara slides in.

But a VAR review shows that Ouattara did not make contact with Mac Allister.

The referee cancels the award of a penalty kick. That’s the right decision.

Oh no, that is not good for Liverpool.

Dominik Szoboszlai is clearly upset as he has suffered an injury and has to come off.

The Liverpool players try to console him.

On comes young midfielder Trey Nyoni.

We will keep you updated as to how serious that setback is to Szoboszlai and Liverpool. He is such a key player for them.

One pass slices through the Liverpool defense and Igor Thiago is in.

Jacquet slides in and does just enough to put Thiago off. He smashes his finish wide of the goal.

The home fans love that.

That is what Brentford are all about.

All of a sudden Barcola is through over the top and clean through on goal.

He clips his finish past Kelleher but it goes past the post.

Best opportunity of the game so far for either team.

Barcola will be kicking himself.

Brilliant play from Brentford as Kayode spanks a shot towards goal.

Jacquet deflects it wide and Brentford are feeling this.

They need to create more chances like that.

Very decent start as Brentford and Liverpool are both going for it.

Liverpool have been zipping the ball around and are trying to force the issue.

But Brentford look dangerous on the counter and from set pieces.

Lovely rhythm to this game.

Now we just need some clear scoring chances.

The Bees’ star forward Kevin Schade is only fit enough to be on the bench.

Igor Thiago leads the line with Anthony and Ouattara tasked with supporting him.

Looking at Brentford’s bench, having Callum Wilson, Schade, Damsgaard, Sangare and Diouf to call on is really strong.

Brentford starting lineup

Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Yarmoliuk, Janelt, Jensen; Ouattara, Thiago, Anthony

Good news for Andoni Iraola is that Alexander Isak and Dominik Szoboszlai are both back to fitness and aside from Cody Gakpo being out injured, this is pretty much as strong as the lineup gets for Liverpool.

Isak is supported by Wirtz, Barcola and Munoz and Liverpool scored six in midweek in the Champions League and should be full of confidence.

Having Szoboszlai back in midfield is a huge boost too and will give Liverpool plenty of energy in the engine room.

Liverpool starting lineup

Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Munoz, Wirtz, Barcola; Isak

Brentford are unbeaten as they host Liverpool and go into this game as the favorites to win.

What a journey they’ve been on in recent years and Keith Andrews has done a fine job to improve on the incredible job Thomas Frank did.

Brentford are dangerous on the counter, have searing pace in attack and are very good at set pieces. All of that will scare the heck out of Liverpool and their new approach under Andoni Iraola.

Liverpool meanwhile have key injury problems, while the were also beaten quite handsomely, in the end, by Manchester City last weekend.

Iraola has been without several key forwards due to injury, but Bradley Barcola scored a hat trick in midweek in the Champions League and they could kick-start his Liverpool career.

Finding balance in midfield and defense has been tough so far for Iraola, as his high-pressing tactics are taking time for Liverpool to adapt to. There are signs it’s working but there are still plenty of kinks to sort out.

Here’s the full preview on Brentford vs Liverpool for your reading pleasure.

Here’s how to watch all of the action from West London live, as Brentford host Liverpool in what promises to be a beauty of a game.

How to watch Brentford vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium — West London
TV Channel: NBCSN/Peacock
Stream link: Watch live on Peacock

According to the betting odds, Brentford are the favorites to beat Liverpool.

The Bees are in an extremely good place to start the season and look really dangerous in attack.

And Liverpool have key injuries, look a bit shaky defensively, have a new manager still bedding in new ideas and had a wild trip to Austria in midweek for Champions League action.

So we can understand the odds. Even if Brentford’s fans will be pinching themselves a little.

Via our partners at DraftKings, here’s a look at the latest odds:

Brentford: +145
Liverpool: +175
Draw: +260

First goalscorer odds Brentford vs Liverpool:

Thiago: +425
Callum Wilson: +550
Alexander Isak: +600
Lewis Koumas: +750
Kevin Schade: +800

This is a really tough game to predict the score of, because everything should point towards Liverpool getting the win.

But this is Brentford, and you should never, ever underestimate them.

Keith Andrews’ side are unbeaten so far and they should have won even more league games as they have four draws and two wins so far. Brentford are well drilled and everyone knows their jobs.

The same can’t be said for Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool, at least right now, as he ushers in a new era and new set of tactics.

Plenty of big name players are still getting used to the new style of play, but there are more and more glimpses in each game that they are getting there.

Below the PST writers share their score predictions for Brentford vs Liverpool. They both agree it’s going to be tight...

Nick Mendola: Brentford 1-1 Liverpool

Joe Prince-Wright: Brentford 1-2 Liverpool