LONDON — Liverpool had Alexander Isak, Víctor Muñoz and, most of all, Brentford’s Yehor Yarmoliuk to thank for a 2–1 win at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Andoni Iraola’s visitors were deservedly trailing 1–0 before Yarmoliuk became enveloped in a cloud of red mist on the cusp of halftime, delivering the gentlest of headbutts that would have a far more profound impact on the contest than its intended recipient, Jérémy Jacquet.

Liverpool warrant credit for overcoming the stop-start contest Brentford had tried to construct at the start of the second half, striking twice in eight minutes to secure three crucial points and become the first side since Feb. 21, 2026 to beat the Bees on their own patch.

Vitaly Janelt would earn Brentford’s second red card of the match with only minutes remaining, but the real damage had been done by the game’s first dismissal.

The Moment That Defined the Match

There was a collective gasp of incredulity which swept around the Gtech when the giant screen flashed up to signal a VAR review for a possible red card was ongoing right at the end of first-half stoppage time. Plenty of the crowd’s whispers were asking which team, let alone which player, was at risk of being dismissed.

As the replays (which weren’t shown to the in-stadium fans) would reveal, Brentford’s Yarmoliuk had been lured into a brainless brush of his head against Jacquet while preparing to defend a corner.

Minutes earlier, VAR had rightly denied Liverpool a penalty, but the fates of Stockley Park rarely side with one team for long. This distant intervention came after a first-half which Brentford had fairly won, limiting their visitors to one big chance which Bradley Barcola fluffed before converting the single clear sight of goal that they created.

The halftime substitutions set the tone for the second 45 minutes. While Keith Andrews reinforced his rearguard before sending on the jet-heeled Kevin Schade to offer a threat in transition, Iraola went all out. Víctor Muñoz, Liverpool’s right winger, replaced Ronald Araújo, a natural center back, in a very loose interpretation of the right back role. Fittingly enough, it would be Muñoz who equalized for the visitors shortly after the hour mark.

Brentford’s bold positioning had pinned Liverpool back in the first half, helping the hosts rack up more shots on target and touches in the opposition penalty area than their illustrious visitors. Yet, with their number reduced, the Bees were either penned inside their own area or left exposed when they dared to venture forward.

Muñoz’s electric speed would exploit this disorganization while Isak benefited from the field being tilted towards Kelleher’s box. The sheer volume of black shirts ensured that Barcola’s header had a decent chance of picking out a teammate. Isak was first onto the scene, taking a deft touch before swiping the ball into the far corner.

After watching their 10 men crumble, Brentford fans could scarcely be blamed for chanting: “To the referee, 2–1.”

Liverpool Player Ratings vs. Brentford (4-2-3-1)

GK: Alisson—7.0: Deceived by Keane Lewis-Potter’s clever header from range but otherwise not unduly troubled.

RB: Ronald Araújo—6.1: Skirted around the fringes of the contest before he was sacrificed for a far more front-footed approach from the visitors in the second half.

CB: Jérémy Jacquet—7.9: It’s hard to describe the regal Frenchman as anything other than classy; be it the way he strode forward on the ball, clipped passes over befuddled red and white shirts or got his toe to any loose pass. Jacquet even managed to tussle with Igor Thiago without getting his shirt wrinkled.

CB: Virgil van Dijk—8.0: Forced out of his leisurely stroll more often than he would perhaps care but did the grubby part of the game well.

LB: Milos Kerkez—7.7: Seemed to benefit from having his countryman Dominik Szoboszlai in such close proximity to him, constantly adjusting his position while being peppered with instructions. Kerkez looked a little more unsettled after his compatriot’s enforced removal.

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai—6.6: Uncharacteristically disciplined defensively during his brief cameo.

CM: Alexis Mac Allister—8.4: It was his sloppy pass that allowed Brentford to keep Liverpool pinned in before Keane Lewis-Potter nodded in the opener.

RW: Víctor Muñoz—8.1: Ran at (rather than around or behind) Lewis-Potter every chance he got. Both would find their way onto the scoresheet, although Muñoz could claim the personal victory in this duel after twisting directly past the Brentford fullback before drilling in his well-taken goal.

AM: Florian Wirtz—8.7: Veered laterally around the final third in search of some space without much success in the first half before taking advantage of the large spacing within the stitching of Brentford’s reduced rearguard.

LW: Bradley Barcola—8.4: Theoretically buoyed by his hat trick against LASK in midweek, Barcola’s clinical edge had deserted him three days later, squandering a glut of clear chances against 10 men.

ST: Alexander Isak—7.6: Completely detached from the rest of Liverpool’s team; Isak may as well have been doing his own sprinting exercise darting around while the ball went nowhere near him. Yet, it only took one flicker of chemistry for the center forward to strike, doing incredibly well to spin and swat Liverpool in front.

SUB: Trey Nyoni (32’ for Szoboszlai)—6.9: Caught out by Lewis-Potter’s run off his shoulder for the game’s first goal.

SUB: Jeremie Frimpong (46’ for Araújo)—N/A: Lasted less than seven minutes before he joined Szoboszlai on the treatment table.

SUB: Rio Ngumoha (52’ for Frimpong)—7.0

SUB: Joe Gomes (79’ for Muñoz)—6.6

SUB: Lewis Koumas (79’ for Isak)—5.8

Subs not used: Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Cody Gakpo.

What the Ratings Tell Us

• Just think for a second what must have been going through Barcola’s mind in this game. The two-time Champions League winner was only recently part of a Paris Saint-Germain side that could soft-pedal its way through a domestic calendar bent by the will authorities to suit his employers. Games, for which PSG were heavy favorites anyway, were deliberately and openly rescheduled to benefit the club’s European run. Now Barcola finds himself in Hounslow having to track the tireless forward surges of Michael Kayode, Brentford’s human trebuchet. The mercurial forward dutifully fluffed his lines on numerous occasions under the unfamiliar scrutiny.
• Liverpool came away with three points and two injury concerns. Iraola has already fretted over the demands of a tight schedule and the toll that can take was spelled out by Szoboszlai and Frimpong lasting a combined 39 minutes on the pitch before both hobbled off.

The Numbers That Explain Liverpool’s Comeback Win

• The game unmistakably swung on Yarmoliuk’s red card. Before his dismissal, Brentford racked up 16 touches in Liverpool’s box while denying the Reds a single shot on target. In the second half, the Bees would only have nine touches in the opposition box while Liverpool fired toward Kelleher five times.
• It was a question of quality over quantity for Isak. Liverpool’s No. 9 completed just three passes all match, yet would end the game with the goal that won it.
• Florian Wirtz not only created a ridiculous nine chances but he also covered more ground than anyone else.