Alexander Isak was the matchwinner as Liverpool came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory against nine-man Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
The Bees had Yehor Yarmoliuk sent off in first-half injury time shortly after going ahead through a Keane Lewis-Potter header, with Victor Munoz equalising for the Reds on 62 minutes before Isak netted eight minutes later. Home skipper Vitaly Janelt was sent off during injury time for a second bookable offence.
Result and context
The result means Andoni Iraola's side inflicted a first defeat of the season on Brentford and have moved ahead of them in the Premier League table into fifth place.
The ECHO was in attendance at the Gtech Community Stadium and here we run the rule over the performances of the Liverpool players.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson Becker 7
Decisive dealing with Brentford dead-ball threat first half and no chance with opening goal.
Ronald Araujo 6
Unable to offer much going forward and found Anthony a difficult customer. Subbed.
Jeremy Jacquet 8
Superb challenge denied Thiago likely goal and impressed with rearguard action and distribution. Butted by Yarmoliuk for soft Brentford red card late first half. Booked.
Virgil van Dijk 7
Vital touch cleared one dangerous Brentford attack early on and height effective when defending set-pieces.
Milos Kerkez 6
Hands full with Outattara first half and didn't always make the right defensive decision. Second half was more about his attacking efforts with Brentford down to 10.
Dominik Szoboszlai 6
Kept matters simple in midfield until afternoon curtailed by injury. Subbed.
Alexis Mac Allister 8
Helped get Liverpool moving from midfield with smart passing and quick to pick up on second balls. Had penalty rightly overturned first half and good cross fashioned second. Booked.
Victor Munoz 8
Overcame jarred knee first half with spirited showing down right and one strong run before interval. Moved to right-back second half and excellent sprint and finish for equaliser. Subbed.
Florian Wirtz 7
Neat enough when in deeper possession but took a while before finding quality in the final third. Became threat with more space after break and released Munoz for leveller.
Bradley Barcola 7
Pressed hard and clearly full of confidence after midweek hat-trick, and wasn't deterred by poor first-half miss with lively showing. Laid on the second Liverpool and struck crossbar. Booked.
Alexander Isak 7
Sent one header over in early exchanges but largely flitted around the periphery until alive to Barcola knockdown with lethal finish. Subbed.
Substitutes
Trey Nyoni (for Szoboszlai 32) 7
Grew into the game after early introduction and helped pin Brentford back second half with alert passing and interceptions.
Jeremie Frimpong (for Araujo 46)
On just long enough to get injured.
Rio Ngumoha (for Frimpong 52) 7
Real threat whenever in possession and tired the Brentford defence.
Lewis Koumas (for Isak 79)
Should have scored late on.
Joe Gomez (for Munoz 79)
Helped Liverpool see game out.
