Brentford heaped more misery on Premier League champions Liverpool with a fully-deserved 3-2 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium, exposing familiar weaknesses to inflict a fourth successive league loss on Arne Slot’s side. Dango Ouattara’s fifth-minute strike from a long throw and Kevin Schade’s cool finish on the stroke of half-time set the tone, with Milos Kerkez and then Mohamed Salah striking for Liverpool, Igor Thiago’s penalty ultimately proved decisive.
Coming just days after Liverpool’s emphatic 5-1 win in Frankfurt, this was a sobering reality check. Brentford’s directed pressure, pace in behind, and the aerial threat from Michael Kayode’s long throws repeatedly unsettled Virgil van Dijk’s back line. Even amid a tense finish, Keith Andrews’ side remained the superior team and climbed to 10th with a fourth league win of the season; Liverpool stay sixth, four points behind leaders Arsenal.
Kayode’s throw, Damsgaard’s vision — Brentford set the rhythm early and often
The opening goal arrived inside five minutes and carried Brentford’s imprint. Kayode’s long throw, delivered with a flat, skimming trajectory more akin to a driven cross, was glanced on at the near post by Kristoffer Ajer. At the back post, Ouattara adjusted brilliantly to crash home a falling volley, while Liverpool’s defence looked transfixed—the latest evidence that opponents are targeting balls delivered behind or across the Reds’ full-backs.