Liverpool came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1, turning a match that had been drifting away from them once Yehor Yarmolyuk was sent off shortly before half-time. Brentford had taken the lead through Keane Lewis-Potter, who arrived from left-back to head Igor Thiago’s cross into the top corner after Liverpool failed to clear their lines. Brentford were furious with the officiating, but the decisive moment was self-inflicted: Yarmolyuk clashed with Jérémy Jacquet before a Liverpool corner and was dismissed for a butt that John Brooks judged on the pitchside monitor. Brentford later lost Vitaly Janelt to a second yellow card and finished with nine men.
Until the red card there was little between the teams. Liverpool shaded the early openings, with Bradley Barcola failing to punish an error from Janelt and Alexander Isak nodding over from a good position, while Brentford responded through fast breaks. Jérémy Jacquet made a crucial tackle to deny Igor Thiago. Liverpool’s problems were compounded when Dominik Szoboszlai went off injured, with Ryan Gravenberch already suspended, and 19-year-old Trey Nyoni came on. Liverpool also had a penalty overturned after replays showed Dango Ouattara got a touch on the ball before colliding with Alexis Mac Allister.
Liverpool took time to adjust after the interval, and their right side suffered another disruption when Jeremie Frimpong was forced off seven minutes after replacing Ronald Araújo. The equaliser arrived in the 62nd minute when Florian Wirtz dropped back and slipped a clever pass inside Lewis-Potter; Victor Muñoz raced clear, cut back and drilled a low left-footed shot into the far corner. The mood changed dramatically. Mac Allister, who had taken a pass from Wirtz, crossed for Barcola to head down, and Isak finished from close range in the 70th minute to complete the turnaround and lift Liverpool into fifth place.
Wirtz’s contribution was central to the comeback. The £100m signing from Bayer Leverkusen has struggled with the responsibility of playing as Liverpool’s No 10, but he was decisive here, registering his second assist of the season for Muñoz and then helping create the winner. Barcola, an initial £106m arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, created a goal for the first time since his move by setting up Isak. Isak’s own Liverpool career has been stop-start since his £125m move from Newcastle, with injuries holding him back, but he has now scored in all five of his Premier League appearances against Brentford.
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola was delighted with how an attack worth close to £400m made the numerical advantage count. He praised Barcola and Wirtz, saying: “Both had a lot of influence. Bradley and Flo, they are players that against 10 men are lovely to have.” Iraola was critical of some sloppy finishing from Barcola, but highlighted Wirtz’s intelligence in tight spaces. He was less happy with Liverpool’s play once they led, when Brentford threatened an equaliser through Thiago, and accepted there were flaws to iron out after a positive week.
Keith Andrews felt Brentford had been “edging it” before the red card and was unhappy with a number of decisions, though he had no complaints about Yarmolyuk’s dismissal. He described Liverpool as “cute and clever” during the incident and promised the midfielder would learn from his mistake. Brentford’s unbeaten start to the season is over and they dropped out of the top four, while John Brooks left the pitch to boos at full-time. The statistics underlined Liverpool’s second-half control: Wirtz created nine or more chances from open play, the first player to do so in a Premier League game since Sadio Mané for Liverpool against Burnley in January 2021, and the first in an away match since Samir Nasri for Manchester City against Tottenham in August 2011. It was also the first time Brentford had received two red cards in the same league game since April 2013 against Sheffield United.