Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool's failure to deal with Brentford's "chaos" led to their 3-1 Premier League defeat on Monday while also accusing the Bees of "stretching the rules" at set-pieces.
Liverpool’s poor defending contributed to their own downfall at the Gtech Community Stadium and inflicted a painful blow on their top-four chances with the Reds four points off the Champions League places.
Ibrahima Konate scored an own goal from one corner and Yoane Wissa had two goals disallowed for offside from two more corners before putting the hosts 2-0 ahead before half time with a fine header.
That was only after Darwin Nunez had added to his growing catalogue of wasted opportunities in front of goal, rounding David Raya only to see Ben Mee recover to make a goal-line clearance.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled one back after the break, but Bryan Mbeumo left Konate in a heap to fire in the third and finish Liverpool off.
Liverpool have now dropped 23 points so far this season – one more than they did all last term when they finished second to Manchester City.
Klopp, who substituted key defender Virgil van Dijk at half time, said: “Brentford create chaos with set-pieces. When I say they stretch the rules, they do, in offensive set-pieces.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s smart, but they do. If you could single out all the situations you would find five fouls but because it’s so chaotic no one sees it in the end.
“So that’s what they do and it’s really good. You know before the game how strong they are from corners. The game got decided by the second goal which was our fault.
“We got away with an offside. That’s all OK, and then we are not awake, they cross the ball and score the second that decided the game.
“The third goal should not have been allowed but we should have played better.”
Ratings
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BRENTFORD RATINGS: David Raya 8: Rounded by Nunez in opening 10 minutes but rescued by Mee’s goal-line clearance. Excellent stop down at his near-post to keep out Tsimikas’ low strike. Commanding show from Spaniard. Getty -
Mathias Jorgensen 8: Booked in opening minute for foul on Nunez after being put into trouble by teammate Pinnock but was excellent for rest of game despite threat of red card hanging over him. AP -
Ben Mee 8: Brilliant block on line to deny Nunez after eight minutes, although Uruguayan should really have scored. Cost Wissa a goal when striker’s shot deflected off Mee who was in offside position. AFP -
Ethan Pinnock 6: Weak header led to Jorgensen having to concede early foul and take booking for the team. Badly sliced a clearance out for corner in shaky first-half from defender. Important block on Robertson cross just after break with Liverpool lining up in box and stuck to task under second-half pressure. AFP -
Mads Roerslev 6: On right of back five and coasted through first half but introduction of Robertson down Liverpool left at half-time made life more problematic for Dane. PA -
Rico Henry 7: Saw surging run down left early on ended by crude Elliott challenge that earned Liverpool man booking. Helped give Bees plenty of width down left in excellent first half for Brentford. Like rest of team, found second half more of a challenge. EPA -
Christian Norgaard 8: Tidy work from captain to nip in and take ball off Oxlade-Chamberlain’s toes as he was poised to shoot in opening 15 minutes. Lovely long-ball forward resulted in Mbuemo scoring Brentford’s third. Getty -
Mathias Jensen 7: Had right-footed strike deflected over bar by Fabinho as Brentford hunted for second first-half goal, which did arrive when the Danish midfielder’s perfect cross picked out Wissa who headed home just before break. PA -
Vitaly Janelt 6: Had Brentford’s first shot on target after 15 minutes but could only curl low effort straight at Alisson from edge of box. Showed real determination to win back possession in middle of park 10 minutes from time followed by pass that almost put Lewis-Potter through on goal. AFP -
Yoane Wissa 8: Congo international sent one lovely through-ball for Mbeumo but his strike partner couldn’t finish. Twice thought he had scored only to be denied by offside flag but did make it 2-0 in opening half with a header that Alisson could not keep out. Getty -
Bryan Mbeumo 9: Should have opened scoring when put through in first-half but was denied by Alisson. The Bees scored from his resulting corner, though, and Mbeumo’s set-pieces were constant problem for Liverpool. Out-muscled Konate before finishing calmly to make it 3-1. Reuters -
SUBS: Josh Dasilva (On for Jenson 74’) 6: Unlucky to be on bench after scoring against West Ham last time out and came on with Brentford creaking under Liverpool pressure, but helped get team over line in end. EPA -
Keane Lewis-Potter (On for Wissa 74’) 6: Young attacker was almost through on goal at one point but brushed off ball by Liverpool defenders. Almost picked out fellow sub Ghoddos in box with injury-time cross that was intercepted by Alisson. AFP -
Saman Ghoddos (On for Mbeumo 88’) N/A. Reuters Sergi Canos (On for Janelt 88’) N/A. Mads Sorensen (On for Henry 90+6’) N/A. -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Allison Becker 6: Looking for a fifth straight win, but a Konate ball squeezed past him in a wretched first half when Brentford put the ball in his net four times – even without Ivan Toney. Troubled by Brentford’s first-half corners and left isolated for third. PA -
Trent Alexander-Arnold 6: Switched off as Yoane Wissa headed home Brentford’s second goal. Stunning left footed delivery for Liverpool’s first. Getty -
Ibrahima Konate 5: Unfortunate own goal put side behind. He’s fast, but was guulty of poor defending on set pieces as Liverpool’s lack of concentration saw them go two down. Headed across goal ten minutes from time, then stumbled over before Brentford’s third. AFP -
Virgil van Dijk 5: Early effort showed Liverpool’s intent, but he was offside. Defence cut open and was second to Mbuemo chasing a stunning Norgaard ball which led to the corner and Brentford going ahead. Off at half time. EPA -
Kostas Tsimikas 4: Poorly marked and found himself in lots of space in first half but hit shot too close to Raya. Struggled to defend crosses. Reuters -
Fabinho 6: Usually a calming influence in front of the back four but his poor ball to Thiago led to his teammate getting booked. Liverpool had 75 per cent possession and he was central to that dominance. Reuters -
Thiago Alcantara 6: Lovely ball forward after the break as Liverpool pushed to get back into the game. Booked taking emergency action to prevent a Brentford counter-attack just before hour mark. Reuters -
Harvey Elliott 6: Booked as his side fell apart in the first half in front of the 17,163 bank holiday crowd. Liverpool missed Jordan Henderson in middle of park. EPA -
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 8: Won midfield battles in his 100th league appearance for Liverpool. Lovely flick to Tsimikas and decent shot from distance in first-half. Sharp and timed his run perfectly to glance in Liverpool’s goal – his first since last January. Liverpool’s best player. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah 6: Combined well with Nunez after controlling a ball and playing him in beautifully early on. Probed and linked up with Alexander-Arnold. Found dangerous positions too, but didn’t track Rico Henry down flank at times. AFP -
Darwin Nunez 5: Rounded Raya early on and shot on target, but Mee blocked superbly. Often the only Liverpool player in the box against three central defenders. Fine finish just after break, but was offside. Snatched at a shot which dragged well wide on 70, then booked two minutes later. Getty -
SUBS: Andrew Robertson (On for Tsimikas 46’) 6: Outswinging corners were an improvement, but Brentford deserved their win amid a raucous atmosphere in West London. AP -
Joel Matip (On for Van Dijk 46’) 5: The three half time subs worked as Liverpool scored and then dominated, while Brentford tried to scrap and stall to maintain their lead. AFP -
Naby Keita (On for Elliott 46’) 6: Gave Liverpool some midfield bite but couldn’t stop Brentford from registering their first win against Liverpool since 1938. Reuters -
Curtis Jones (On for Oxlade-Chamberlain 84’) N/A. Getty
Victory for Brentford was all the more impressive in the absence of 12-goal top scorer Ivan Toney who was ruled out with a knee problem and proved the West London club, who moved up to seventh on 26 points, just two behind the Reds, are a match for any team having also beaten Manchester United and City this season.
Brentford are now unbeaten in their last six matches and boss Thomas Frank said the club, who were only promoted to the top tier in 2021, should set high targets.
“These players don’t surprise me but they always impress me. It shouldn’t in a way be possible for Brentford to beat Manchester City, draw with Tottenham, beat West Ham away and beat Liverpool at home, but we did it,” he said.
Asked about a possible push for a European place, Frank added: “I hope the fans dream big, and the players, but on the flip side we are very realistic.
“This is a relentless league. Injuries to key players and we could struggle a bit. For us today it’s 100 per cent my rule of 24 hours. We will celebrate, I will have a glass of wine, but then in 24 hours focus on the next game.”
Brentford are in FA Cup action on Saturday when they take on West Ham in the third round while Liverpool face Wolves.
