Brentford lose their way after going down to 10 men as Liverpool end Bees' unbeaten start to campaign
Premier League
Brentford (1) 1 Lewis-Potter 44 Yarmoliuk s/o 45+8 Janelt s/o 91
Liverpool (0) 2 Munoz 62, Isak 70
Brentford's seemingly unstoppable march up the Premier League table ground to a halt at the Gtech as they paid the price for having a man sent off just before half-time - just as it seemed the foundations for victory had been laid.
They surrendered their proud unbeaten record and finished two players down after a second red card in the closing stages.
The Bees have given as good as they've got against the Reds at the Gtech in their five previous campaigns, winning twice and sharing six goals back in the first of those meetings in September 2021, and once again caused them trouble, even if this one ultimately ended in disappointment.
Last season, the Bees won a thriller 3-2 and they carried the greater threat again this time before the break with the speed and power of their attacks - deservedly stealing in front.
But the game took a turn for the worse as far as they were concerned when Yehor Yarmoliuk was send off in first-half stoppage time after a moment of indiscipline which ultimately was to undermine all the good work that had gone before it.
His head thrust at Jeremy Jacquet was picked up by VAR official Darren England and the tide would now turn.
There was not much in the way of goalmouth action until 20 minutes had elapsed, when both sides almost netted.
First Michael Kayode exchanged passes with Dango Ouatttara before slamming a left foot shot at goal that Jacquet managed to deflect wide, then Bradley Barcola seized on a misplaced header to bear down on goal before lifting wide his final shot beyond the advancing Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Frenchman also curled wide when picked out Florian Wirtz and it seemed the midweek form displayed in scoring a Champions League hat-trick in Austria had deserted him.
A lovely ball from Jaidon Athony out to Ouattara and the first-time cross that followed to Igor Thiago almost undid the Reds defence, with Jacquet again coming to the rescue by doing just enough to put off the Bees' Brazilian marksman.
The Bees had further reason to believe this might be their day when their key creator, Dominik Szoboszlai, had to leave the field after barely half an hour.
Liverpool thought they had earned a penalty when Ouattara dived in to nick the ball just ahead of Alexis Mac Allister from an Alexander Isak cutback - ref John Brooks initially convinced he had played man and not ball. VAR helped persuade him to overturn the penalty award.
And moments later, the Bees had the goal their greater potency had promised with Lewis-Potter timed a run into the box perfectly to head a deft Igor Thiago cross beyond Alisson.
It was all looking so good. But then came the red card for Yarmoliuk which changed the complexion of the afternoon for Keith Andrews' men. Right on half time, the Ukrainian was deemed to have head-butted Jaquet and now it was 10 v 11.
Liverpool took an age to look as if they had a numerical advantage and were further rocked by a second injury-enforced change when half-time sub Jeremy Frimpong was forced off.
We had played an hour before the Reds managed to get their first shot on target - a stinger from an angle by Mac Allister that was tipped aside. Virgil van Dijk hooked wide at the back post from the subsequent corner.
It finally seemed to ignite the visitors though and after Wirtz had played a fine ball into the channel, Victor Munoz raced on and chopped back inside Lewis-Potter before arrowing into the bottom corner across Kelleher.
It was a different game now.
Barcola missed a decent half-chance but was about to provide a fine assist for Liverpool's second - his cushioned header from a Mac Allister cross put away by Isak with deadly efficiency - his touch and instant left foot finish flashing past Kelleher.
Barcola was in the groove now and the ex-PSG man curled a lovely shot onto the crossbar as the Reds sought out a clinching third goal. They could have done with it too as the Bees refused to lie down and kept asking questions in a dogged effort to save that unbeaten record.
To their immense credit, the Bees managed to put together a tremendous spell of pressure that threatened to somehow get them back on level terms but they ended the match with nine men when Vitaly Janelt picked up a second yellow for fouling Rio Ngumoha on the break.
Bees: (4-2-3-1) Kelleher - Kayode, Ajer, van den Berg (Hickey 71), Lewis-Potter (Diouf 78) - Yarmoliuk, Janelt - Ouatarra (Schade h/t), Jensen (Sangare h/t), Anthony (Damsgaard 78) - Igor Thiago
Pool: (4-2-3-1) Alisson - Araujo (Frimpong ht) (Ngumoha 53), Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez - Szoboszlai (Nyoni 32), Mac Allister - Munoz (Gomez 79), Wirtz, Barcola - Isak (Koumas 79)
Attendance: 17,232
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