Liverpool laboured in the first half and were awarded a penalty after Dango Ouattara appeared to trip Alexis Mac Allister in the area. A VAR review showed Ouattara had got the slightest touch on the ball, and referee John Brooks overturned his decision after a check on the monitor. Two minutes later Brentford took the lead when Keane Lewis-Potter met Igor Thiago's cross with a bullet header into the top corner. Lewis-Potter, one of the smallest players on the pitch, gave the hosts control of a low-key contest. Liverpool had struggled to break down a Brentford low block in that period, and their best moments had come on the counter-attack.
The turning point came in first-half added time, when Brentford's Yehor Yarmoliuk was sent off for what Brooks described as a "headbutting action" towards Liverpool defender Jeremy Jacquet as the pair grappled at a corner. The ball was not in play, so Liverpool were not given a penalty for the incident. Brentford had been in control with a lead in hand before the dismissal, and the loss of a player left them with ten men for the second half. Liverpool used their numerical advantage to push forward after the break, and the match opened up from that point.
Victor Munoz equalised after 62 minutes. Florian Wirtz released him with a pass, and the Spanish winger cut inside and beat Caoimhin Kelleher with a left-footed finish. Liverpool's winning goal came in the 70th minute, when Alexis Mac Allister swung a deep cross towards the far post and Bradley Barcola headed it down for Alexander Isak to finish. It was Isak's fifth goal of the season. He had missed the previous two matches through injury, and he started alongside Wirtz and Barcola in a frontline valued at £350million. Barcola, who had scored a hat-trick against LASK in the Champions League on 14 October, had an earlier chance to open his Premier League account after a mistake by Vitaly Janelt, but he dragged the ball wide.
Brentford's numerical problems grew again in stoppage time, when Janelt was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Liverpool substitute Rio Ngumoha, leaving the hosts with nine men. Liverpool also had fitness setbacks. Dominik Szoboszlai's return from injury lasted only 32 minutes before he was forced off with what appeared to be a recurrence of his knee problem. Jeremie Frimpong also pulled up with a problem. Isak was taken off on 79 minutes with a busy schedule ahead.
Liverpool had lost twice at Brentford since 2023, so the comeback was seen as a result they needed. The win lifted the side to fifth in the table. Isak had only 16 touches, the fewest of any starting player, but his final touch was the goal that settled the match. The second-half comeback owed much to a more vertical attacking approach, with the full-backs pushing forward more often than they had in the first half.
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Alexander Isak scored the winner in the 70th minute as Liverpool recovered from a first-half deficit to win 2-1 at Brentford, where the hosts had been reduced to nine men after a first-half red card and a second-half stoppage-time dismissal.
AI text based on reports by RTE.ie, BBC and The New York Times. Published .