Liverpool slumped to their fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign on Monday as Brentford won 3-1.
The hosts were fully deserving of the three points at the Gtech Stadium as the Reds failed to build on the momentum of back-to-back victories against Aston Villa and Leicester.
It leaves Jurgen Klopp’s side four points off the final Champions League spot ahead of Manchester United’s visit from Bournemouth on Tuesday.
But you knew all of that, of course. What you might have missed is a series of intriguing subplots in west London on Monday night...
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Fabinho fume
Having been restored to the side following the birth of his new-born son, Israel, it’s fair to say Fabinho was keen to make an impact on proceedings at Brentford.
The most animated the midfielder got, however, was early on in the first half when he launched in a furious gesture at referee Stuart Attwell.
After both Harvey Elliott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were brought down during the same passage of play without a foul given for either, Fabinho could be seen angrily gesturing towards the official.
Well, one of them should have been a foul, right? Certainly in Fabinho’s eyes at least.
Canos believe it
Sergi Canos’s Liverpool career was not exactly a stellar one under Jurgen Klopp.
The Spaniard made one appearance for the Reds, turning out for 10 minutes of the final game of the 2015/16 campaign at West Brom.
Having established himself as a first-team star at Brentford now, Canos is enjoying much more game-time in the Premier League and the hosts couldn’t resist a bit of needle in the closing seconds about Canos and his unheralded time at Anfield.
“Oh Sergi Canos, he left cause you’re s***!” sneered the home end in a chant that Reds followers in the away stand had no real riposte for on a forgettable night in the capital.
All very tongue-in-cheek, of course, but this was one time Liverpool had to take their medicine.
Rico’s law
It’s likely that Mohamed Salah was seeing Rico Henry in his Monday nightmares.
Having failed to get the better of the Brentford left-back all game in London, Salah was quickly confronted by the defender immediately at full time too.
Henry was clearly desperate to ensure he came away with a keepsake from a huge night for Brentford and promptly asked Salah for his match-worn shirt.
Salah, though clearly disappointed with the result, was happy to oblige, but if the Liverpool star thought that was the end of his interactions with Henry, he was wrong.
The pair were later spotted chatting in the foyer of the Gtech Stadium shortly before Salah boarded the team bus back to Merseyside. Try as he did, Salah just could not shake the attention of Henry.
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