Thomas Frank has admitted he was mindful of being too open in transition against Liverpool as he hoped to avoid a repeat of the six-goal thriller between the two sides last season.
Even without star man Ivan Toney, Brentford managed to secure all three points in a 3-1 victory on the Reds' visit to west London thanks to a deflected effort off Liverpool's returning Ibrahima Konate and strikes from Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo which saw Jurgen Klopp's side well-beaten in their first outing of 2023, despite Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain halving the deficit shortly after half-time.
Defeat at the Gtech Stadium was a sobering tonic for Liverpool, who had previously stringed four Premier League fixtures together and mounted a climb up the table. But now the worrying showing from all areas of the pitch has sparked another mid-season predicament for Klopp and his players after they passed up the opportunity to capitalise on the recent dropped points from Tottenham, Manchester City and Newcastle.
