This was a thudding reality check for anyone who thought Liverpool, having dusted themselves down over the early winter break, would stroll back into the top four. If they continue defending this badly they will lose ground rapidly rather than gain it: a bright, typically resolute Brentford deserved to beat them but this was equally a defeat self-inflicted by a horror show from their back line. Jürgen Klopp may also be concerned that, with virtually the entire second half to turn things around after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave them a lifeline, their attacking efforts fizzled out meekly.
Brentford extended their unbeaten run to six games and added this scalp to that of Manchester City. They have drawn with Tottenham and won at West Ham in the same spell, and anyone regarding them as underdogs nowadays is living in the past. If you are not smart, punchy, compact and robust in the duels Thomas Frank’s players will find you out. Every error Liverpool made was exposed to the maximum and the home side’s feat was even more impressive given they might have been expected to struggle in the injury-enforced absence of their talisman, Ivan Toney.
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