Brentford vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League result and final score after Bryan Mbeumo seals win
Liverpool visit Brentford tonight in the Premier League as the Reds aim to make it five straight wins in a row.
Jurgen Klopp’s side saw off Leicester last time out with a 2-1 victory but weren’t at their best and will need to find another gear if they are to beat an impressive Brentford side in west London. The Bees beat West Ham last week following a draw with Tottenham on Boxing Day, and are unbeaten in all competitions since 23 October.
Brentford have lost only one game at home so far this season, though they are without talisman Ivan Toney here through injury. Victory would see them climb to seventh in the table, just two points behind sixth-placed Liverpool, while the visitors would leapfrog Spurs into fifth place if they were to pick up all three points. Liverpool’s new signing Cody Gakpo has not been registered in time to make his debut.
Follow all the action and latest updates from Brentford vs Liverpool at the Gtech Community Stadium below.
Brentford vs Liverpool
Match kicked off in west London at 5.45pm GMT
Andrew Robertson on Liverpool bench; Cody Gakpo not yet registered
Brentford’s top scorer Ivan Toney ruled out through injury
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Liverpool (Konate og, 19)
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Liverpool (Wissa, 42)
GOAL! Brentford 2-1 Liverpool (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 50)
GOAL! Brentford 3-1 Liverpool (Mbeumo, 84)
Brentford FC 3 - 1 Liverpool FC
Full-time: Brentford 3-1 Liverpool
19:30 , Lawrence Ostlere
A comprehensive and deserved win for Brentford thanks to goals by Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and an earlier own-goal from Ibrahima Konate. Liverpool meanwhile look completely shot, well off the intensity of last season or their title-winning campaign, and Jurgen Klopp needs to rebuild.
Brentford 3-1 Liverpool
19:25 , Lawrence Ostlere
90+3 min: Liverpool are floundering and almost concede another goal, with Alisson making a crucial interception to stop a certain tap-in at the back post.
Brentford 3-1 Liverpool
19:21 , Lawrence Ostlere
90 min: Six minutes will be added on.
Brentford 3-1 Liverpool
19:20 , Lawrence Ostlere
88 min: A huge chance for Salah in the box but he can’t find his feet. Then it falls to Keita but his shot is blocked! Thet would have meant game on for these final few minutes, but Liverpool are running out of time now.
Brentford 3-1 Liverpool
19:17 , Lawrence Ostlere
No foul: the goal stands. Konate was under pressure but he seemed to go down too easily. What a win this is going to be for Brentford!
GOAL! Brentford 3-1 Liverpool (Mbeumo, 84)
19:16 , Lawrence Ostlere
Bryan Mbeumo pounces on the counterattack, barges Ibrahima Konate out of the way and slots past Alisson Becker. Was it a foul? The referee doesn’t think so, and I don’t think VAR will overturn this...
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
19:14 , Lawrence Ostlere
83 min: Fabinho makes a pointless foul on Rico Henry, which wastes another minute. Liverpool goalscorer Oxlade-Chamberlain is replaced by Curtis Jones.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
19:13 , Lawrence Ostlere
80 min: The past 15 minutes or so have been played at a slower tempo, from Liverpool’s point of view, and they just haven’t had the urgency or the quality to break down this stubborn Brentford defence. Still time, of course, but it doesn’t feel like an equaliser is around the corner.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
19:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
77 min: Darwin Nunez chases a throughball but it’s just too heavy for him and David Raya rushes out to clear.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
19:06 , Lawrence Ostlere
75 min: Two Brentford changes: Mathias Jensen and Yoane Wissa are off, Josh Dasilva and Keane Lewis-Potter are on.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
19:04 , Lawrence Ostlere
72 min: Darwin Nunez is booked for dissent. It looked like he was being fouled but he then shoved his marker to the ground, and that is how the robust debate with the referee began.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
19:01 , Lawrence Ostlere
69 min: Darwin Nunez screws a shot across goal, a poor finish. Time is ticking away.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
18:56 , Lawrence Ostlere
63 min: A bit of a lull in the game. Liverpool are most certainly the dominant force right now - Jurgen Klopp’s half-time changes and teamtalk have had an effect - but they are struggling to carve out chances after that initial second-half rush.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
18:52 , Lawrence Ostlere
60 min: Thiago has started to pull the strings in Liverpool’s midfield, and he also gets a couple of shots away - the latter is deflected away for a corner, but Brentford deal with it comfortably.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
18:50 , Lawrence Ostlere
57 min: Thiago wipes out a dashing Wissa and picks up a yellow card - probably a ‘good yellow’ in the sense of stopping a Brentford counter, and something Liverpool could have shown more of in the first half. On the bench, Van Dijk has some strapping on his leg, so it would seem his half-time change was for injury while the other two switches were tactical. Andy Robertson in particular has injected lots of energy.
Brentford 2-1 Liverpool
18:47 , Lawrence Ostlere
54 min: Fabinho spins and drives from midfield before letting fly with a low effort which is parried away by Raya.
GOAL! Brentford 2-1 Liverpool (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 50)
18:42 , Lawrence Ostlere
What a game this is! The ball is over the goalline for the sixth time in the match and this is one that counts. It’s a stunning cross by Trent Alexander-Arnold off his left foot from the right-hand side, perfectly on to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s head who guides it into the far corner. A much better start to the half by Liverpool.
No goal! Brentford 2-0 Liverpool
18:40 , Lawrence Ostlere
What a finish by Darwin Nunez, flicking the ball over David Raya after racing through on goal, but VAR steps in to rule it out - he was just offside.
Brentford 2-0 Liverpool
18:37 , Lawrence Ostlere
Back under way, and Jurgen Klopp has made three half-time changes:
Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas and Harvey Elliott are off. Joel Matip, Andrew Robertson and Naby Keita are on.
Half-time: Brentford 2-0 Liverpool
18:30 , Lawrence Ostlere
Fair to say Jamie Carragher was not impressed by that Liverpool display. He digs out Harvey Elliott for a senseless dummy in midfield which sparked Brentford’s second goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold for poor positioning in dealing with Wissa. “Liverpool have had the same problem all season: they cannot cope with teams who play with intensity in their game.”
Half-time: Brentford 2-0 Liverpool
18:21 , Lawrence Ostlere
Brentford have been fantastic, Liverpool awful. Konate put the first past his own goalkeeper - a stroke of misfortunte - but Wissa then scored three times with two ruled out before the third eventually counted.
Brentford 2-0 Liverpool
18:18 , Lawrence Ostlere
45 min: Brentford are not mssing Ivan Toney tonight, it seems - Yoane Wissa has been bright and deserves his goal. Liverpool meanwhile have been disjointed in attack since the first 10 minutes and totally flat defensively, lacking any intensity or close contact to Brentford’s forwards.
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Liverpool (Wissa, 42)
18:15 , Lawrence Ostlere
It was offside, but it doesn’t matter now!
Brentford are straight back on the attack and Wissa is unchallenged once more as he heads Jensen’s cross into the ground and to Alisson’s right - the goalkeeper scoops the ball away but it looked as if it had already crossed the line, and the referee’s goal-line technology confirms it: goal!
GOAL? Brentford 2-0 Liverpool (Wissa, 39)
18:12 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wissa brings down a corner on his chest and then fires home... but is Ben Mee offside? The ball deflects off the centre-back before squeezing past Alisson in goal. Terrible defending but Liverpool might get away with it...
Brentford 1-0 Liverpool
18:08 , Lawrence Ostlere
35 min: A decent spell, this, by Liverpool, which just needs that clear-cut chance at the end of it. Salah drifts out to the right to get involved but gives the ball away and the pressure is relieved - Brentford come forwards, but Wissa is offside.
Brentford 1-0 Liverpool
18:05 , Lawrence Ostlere
32 min: Liverpool have a corner, which Tsimikas whips in to the near post where Konate can’t quite connect properly with the header. Oxlade-Chamberlain takes a shot from range after the ball is cleared, but it’s easily saved by David Raya.
Brentford 1-0 Liverpool
18:02 , Lawrence Ostlere
29 min: Tsimikas is having a little bit of joy down the left side arriving at the back post, but he’s lacking the end product either with shot or cross.
Brentford 1-0 Liverpool
17:59 , Lawrence Ostlere
26 min: Wissa has the ball in the back of the net after another Brentford set-piece, but this one is ruled out for offside. Brentford have their tails up and the Gtech Community Stadium is bouncing.
Brentford 1-0 Liverpool
17:56 , Lawrence Ostlere
24 min: Tsimikas gets away a low shot inside the box which is well fended by David Raya. Liverpool get a corner from it, but that comes to nothing.
Brentford 1-0 Liverpool
17:55 , Lawrence Ostlere
21 min: Liverpool had a decent grip on the early forays but after Nunez’s missed chance, Brentford got stronger and stronger. Liverpool are now stringing some passes together but they have a deep block to break down in front of them.
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Liverpool (Konate og, 19)
17:52 , Lawrence Ostlere
Brentford convert a spell of pressure and it’s well deserved. Bryan Mbeumo earned a corner after Alisson had saved his shot from a dangerous counterattack. From the set-piece, Mbeumo’s delivery was turned home inadvertently by Ibrahima Konate’s left knee, and Brentford lead.
Brentford 0-0 Liverpool
17:45 , Lawrence Ostlere
13 min: Vitaly Janelt gets a shot away at the end of a good spell of pressure by Brentford, but it’s easily held by Alisson.
Brentford 0-0 Liverpool
17:42 , Lawrence Ostlere
10 min: Harvey Elliott is booked for a poorly timed challenge on Rico Henry.
Brentford 0-0 Liverpool
17:41 , Lawrence Ostlere
7 min: What a miss! Mohamed Salah brings down a long ball and plays a brilliant pass into the path of Darwin Nunez, who takes it in his stride and around the advancing David Raya. It seems a certain goal, but Ben Mee slides back to block the shot on the line. Great defending, and yet another big miss by Nunez.
Brentford 0-0 Liverpool
17:39 , Lawrence Ostlere
4 min: David Raya has just made a phenomenal save. Harvey Elliott crossed perfectly for Virgil van Dijk arriving at the far post in the second phase of a set-piece, who fired a volley from close range only to see it flicked up on to the bar by some spectacular reflexes. The flag went up so it was all irrelevant, but it was an impressive piece of play all round.
Brentford 0-0 Liverpool
17:34 , Lawrence Ostlere
2 min: Matthias Jorgensen has already been booked for a bump on Darwin Nunez. That’s a long time for Jorgensen to avoid another.
Kick-off!
17:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
We are under way in west London.
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez
17:21 , Lawrence Ostlere
Micah Richards is tipping Darwin Nunez to come good at Liverpool. The striker has had plenty of chances to score since the Premier League’s return since the World Cup and is getting in the right places, but hasn’t yet hit the net. But Richards insists he is a “quality player” whose moment is imminent.
Jamie Carragher, also speaking on Sky Sports ahead of kick-off, says Ibrahima Konate is the future for Liverpool in defence alongside Virgil van Dijk. “He was very unfortunate not to start the World Cup final,” Carragher says of the France international.
Brentford vs Liverpool
17:13 , Lawrence Ostlere
Thomas Frank says Ivan Toney is “close” to being fit but was not ready to return after a knee injury, though the Brentford manager says he is happy with Yoane Wissa as Toney’s replacement, who he stresses has the pace to get in behind. “It is no secret Liverpool play a high line,” Frank tells Sky Sports, “and hopefully Yoane has the pace to cause problems.”
That might explain why Ibrahima Konate has come in to the Liverpool line-up, at the expense of the less mobile Joel Matip.
Thomas Frank calls on Brentford to use home advantage
17:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
Leaders Arsenal are the only visiting team to have tasted victory at the Gtech Community Stadium this season and Thomas Frank is determined to make the ground “a fortress”.
“We have massive belief in ourselves,” said the Dane. “We have a fantastic group of players. We speak about our attitude all the time - we are confident but humble.
“We’re very confident that we can get a very good result against any team, but also humble to know that we have to put so much hard work in.
“Liverpool is a fantastic team, with a fantastic manager. It doesn’t really matter when you face Liverpool, they are always good.
“Under the floodlights at the Gtech, we’ll come flying out and do everything we can to get the three points.
“We want to make it a fortress. We want to be really difficult to play against, also away from home, but especially at home. We need to be brave and aggressive and we need to attack.”
Jurgen Klopp demands more from Liverpool
17:02 , Lawrence Ostlere
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp knows improvements have to be made quickly after admitting the majority of his players were not on top of their games in the victory over Leicester.
It took two own goals from the hapless Wout Faes to turn around a 1-0 deficit following some particularly lapse defending and only Thiago Alcantara could leave the field at half-time knowing he had been anywhere close to the level expected.
There was an upturn in the second half, with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold stepping up in his defensive duties, but with Brentford - who have already shocked Manchester United and Manchester City this season - to come on Monday, Klopp knows they cannot afford another off day.
“The result is very pleasing obviously but we all saw the game and it was not our best performance, we know that,” he said.
“We had a few good performances, really good performances, but the majority were not on top of their game, let me say it like this, and that’s why this can happen.
“When it’s only 2-1 against a good opponent then you have to fight through. That’s what we did and I’m pleased with that, but of course we have to play better.
“Now we have just two days and we don’t know exactly who can go again and stuff like this. But Brentford have the same situation.
“They are in a really good moment, I think. I saw big parts of the Tottenham game (a 2-2 draw on Boxing Day) and a lot of things were really good.
“I didn’t see yet anything from the West Ham game (a 2-0 win) but will watch it as well.
“And we had our problems then with the way they play, so we have to make sure we are ready for that. That’s all I’m concerned about in the moment.”
Brentford vs Liverpool: Team news
16:45 , Lawrence Ostlere
So, as expected, Cody Gakpo was not registered in time to feature here for Liverpool and will likely make his debut in the FA Cup this weekend. Andrew Robertson drops to the bench and Jordan Henderson misses out completely with concussion, so Konstantinos Tsimikas starts at left-back and Fabinho comes into midfield. Ibrahima Konate also replaces Joel Matip in defence.
Brentford are without the injured Ivan Toney, despite Thomas Frank’s positive assessment in his press conference yesterday, so Yoane Wissa joins Bryan Mbeumo up front. Vitaly Janelt comes into midfield in place of Josh Dasilva.
Confirmed lineups
16:33 , Lawrence Ostlere
Brentford: Raya, Roerslev, Zanka, Mee, Pinnock, Henry, Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen, Mbeumo, Wissa.
Subs: Strakosha, Canos, Dasilva, Ghoddos, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Bech Sorensen, Crama, Trevitt.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Fabinho, Thiago, Elliott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Salah, Nunez.
Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Keita, Jones, Robertson, Carvalho, Matip, Bajcetic, Phillips.
Brentford vs Liverpool
16:19 , Lawrence Ostlere
Top-four chasing Liverpool play at mid-table Brentford in the only Premier League game today.
A win would move Jurgen Klopp’s team above fifth-place Tottenham. Liverpool won’t be allowed to get over-confident, though. Brentford, who won 2-1 at Manchester City before the World Cup break, beat West Ham 2-0 on Friday and Klopp is wary of facing the London club.
Both sides are in good form. Liverpool are chasing their fifth straight league win while Brentford are on a five-game unbeaten streak.
Brentford vs Liverpool
16:14 , Lawrence Ostlere
Latest updates from the Gtech Community Stadium where Brentford host Liverpool.
