If Andoni Iraola has anything about him, he will mark Yehor Yarmoliuk’s sacrifice with at least a peck on the cheek.

“I kiss Rodrigo and say thanks,” was how Roberto De Zerbi acknowledged the commitment of Bentancur to the seemingly doomed Spurs cause last weekend.

Liverpool were on as ill-fated and seemingly irretrievable a path against Brentford before a similar level of soft but ultimately inevitably punished idiocy spared them.

But while Bentancur’s foolishness galvanised Spurs, Yarmoliuk’s imbecility condemned Brentford to a first defeat of the season. And from a position of control, no less.

The Bees were leading at home, not with complete command of the game and opponent, but convincingly enough to confidently manage the remaining 45 minutes.

None of Liverpool’s seven shots to that point had been on target, and that profligacy promised to combine potently with Brentford’s low block and counter-attacking strategy.

Then came the turning point. With Liverpool yet to take a stoppage-time corner, Yarmoliuk pushed his head into Jeremy Jacquet’s while marking him. It likely wasn’t enough to actually render the centre-half prone – more of a Luke Shaw reaction would have sufficed – but the red card was justified.

And it broke Brentford’s resistance in a way Liverpool perhaps wouldn’t have with player-based parity. The visitors had created chances, most notably one missed by Bradley Barcola when through from a defensive mix-up, but once Keane Lewis-Potter scored the opener it seemed a task beyond a Liverpool side which had not won from behind in the Premier League since January.

Even then, Keith Andrews appeared to have shored things up with two substitutions at the break. Liverpool did not come particularly close to equalising until their own half-time substitution was himself forced off through injury.

Having already lost Dominik Szoboszlai after half an hour, Liverpool had to watch Jeremie Frimpong limp off. Two right-back options down with Ronald Araujo taken off, it fell on Victor Munoz to fill in at right-back.

Of course he drew the sides level with a stunning burst down the right-hand side, chop inside and finish.

It was an excellent assist from Florian Wirtz, receiving the ball on the half-turn with one touch and instantly finding Munoz’s run. The Spanish summer signing had been laid out minutes earlier, clutching his chest after a clash with Kevin Schade; it was Liverpool’s ‘call an ambulance – but not for me’ moment.

Eight minutes later, Alexander Isak had his fifth goal in as many Premier League games against Brentford, with Barcola providing his first assist after a midweek Champions League hat-trick.

Munoz has been one of the unrelenting bright sparks in a curious Liverpool start, but it was Rio Ngumoha who ranked second behind only Yarmoliuk’s red in terms of turning the tide.

The 18-year-old was crucial in the build-up to the first goal, was involved in the second and perpetually drove at an increasingly leggy defence. No-one magnified Liverpool’s man advantage anywhere near as thoroughly.

Brentford were understandably out on their feet by the end. The final 40 minutes were summed up by Ngumoha tracking back to dispossess fellow substitute Mikkel Damsgaard midway inside Liverpool’s half, then surging 70 or so yards to the edge of the Bees’ area and forcing Janelt’s second yellow card.

But the match pivoted on Yarmoliuk’s senselessness, for which Iraola ought to be thankful.