Brentford wrote another extraordinary chapter in their Premier League history after registering a famous first win over Liverpool since 1938.
Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by the Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium on Monday night as their Champions League hopes again suffered another setback. The defeat leaves Jurgen Klopp’s side four points off the top four.
Ibrahima Konate scored an own goal to give Brentford the lead before Yoane Wissa added a second three minutes before half-time. The Reds, to their credit, responded well after the break with a goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Bryan Mbeumo sealed all three points for the hosts six minutes from time. And below is a look at how the national media and Liverpool ECHO reported on the game.
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'Jurgen Klopp hooks three men at half-time'
Riath Al-Samarrai of the Daily Mail wrote: “It says something when Jurgen Klopp hooks three men at half-time. It says something else when the prevailing thought at such a moment concerns the manner of madness that compelled him to take so long and why so few.
“Of course, there are always rocky nights in the course of a season. And certainly Liverpool have had a few of them already in this campaign.
“But have there been any quite like the one that played out here? Any quite so appallingly bad in so many areas of the pitch that you had to dredge the recent memory for a worse half than what they offered in the first? And when exactly was the last time a Liverpool defence was so feeble and seemingly unprepared for set-pieces?”
Before he added: “It wasn't smash and grab, irrespective of what might be interpreted from statistics showing Liverpool had 73 cent of the ball and more chances. No. Brentford were simply better. Better at the back, better with profiting from Liverpool's shortcoming in the same department, and goodness there were a lot of those.
“ Virgil van Dijk looked slow and clumsy - he was among those subbed off. Konate was playing his first game since losing the World Cup final with France and what a shocker he had, with goals one and three his fault.”
'Enthusiastically acting out Wenger-era Arsenal away at Stoke'
Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian wrote: “But when fractures come it is in battalions. Everywhere in this Liverpool side, with the exception of Allison, there are doubts and concerns. In one sense, their problems this season have not been difficult to diagnose. The press has not been functioning and that is not something easily rectified. But to that was added a new vulnerability, an almost comical inability to defend corners as though Liverpool were still engaged in a festive game of charades, enthusiastically acting out Wenger-era Arsenal away at Stoke.”
Before he added: "But there are also issues with an injury-ravaged midfield. There are absences everywhere. It was injuries that underlay Liverpool’s slump during the Covid season and there will be those who wonder just why this side seems so susceptible. Perhaps it’s bad luck, perhaps it’s related to the relentless intensity Klopp demands or perhaps it’s simply evidence of an ageing squad in need of rejuvenation.
“And that demands money, and that requires qualification for the Champions League.”
'Klopp’s team look like a work in progress'
Alyson Rudd of The Times wrote: “Liverpool could ill afford another hiccup. Jürgen Klopp’s side badly needed to find some momentum to reignite their minimum requirement of a top-four finish. Instead they were bullied and outmanoeuvred by Brentford, the west London club which last defeated Liverpool 85 years ago.
“Thomas Frank has now celebrated his new, extended contract with a draw against Tottenham Hotspur and wins against West Ham United and Liverpool. Before he signed the deal, he had engineered a win at the Etihad. It was no trick of the light that illuminated Klopp looking appreciatively at what the opposition, run on a tight budget, engineered to outwit his team.
“In some respects, Klopp’s team look like a work in progress not least because of the form of Darwin Núñez who ran to the away fans before kick- off. They responded with enthusiasm. The feeling was that the striker needs encouragement in spite of his many missed chances since returning from World Cup duty with Uruguay. Sure enough, he was the cause, playing through the middle, of the home side’s first headache as he raced into space only to be tripped cynically by Zanka. Soon afterwards Núñez was released by Mohamed Salah only for his effort to be blocked by Ben Mee on the line. The travelling supporters immediately chanted his name. The goals will come as long as he does not stop giving his all. The overall effect, though, is that when watching Liverpool, you are in effect watching The Núñez Show. It is both enthralling and frustrating seeing him create chances, charge into space, link up with enthusiastic energy and intuition — only to then miss the target with alarming regularity.”
'Out-fought and out-thought'
Paul Gorst of the Liverpool ECHO wrote: “And the wider questions will now rightly be asked about just how much of a stomach for the fight this team has in the all-important race for the Champions League spots.
“Given the strictly non-negotiable way Fenway Sports Group absolutely insist this self-sufficient football club must be run, a failure to qualify for Europe's most lucrative competition - particularly at a time when the billions of external investors are being sought - could set Liverpool back years.
“The arrival of Cody Gakpo will at least provide something that resembles the calvary, particularly for a forward line without three of its key performers just now, but the addition of a high-calibre midfielder remains glaring. That is not being wise after any event, either. It's been evident for months.
“But it would be wrong to lay this setback at the door of the Boston-based owners and a lack of investment. Not this time. Klopp's men were simply out-fought and out-thought.”
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