With a 3-1 victory against Liverpool on Monday at Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford achieved their first victory over the Reds since 1938, dealing another blow to their aspirations of finishing in the top four of the Premier League and earning a spot in the Champions League.
Liverpool had a terrible start, as Ibrahima Konate's own goal in the 19th minute and Yoane Wissa's header in the 42nd minute gave the home team a deserving lead.
Alex Oxlade-first Chamberlain's goal in almost a year cut the deficit in half for Liverpool after the break, but they were unable to capitalize on their possession domination, and Bryan Mbeumo sealed the victory six minutes before the end.
As a result, Liverpool ended the day in sixth place in the Premier League, 15 points ahead of Brentford, and 15 points behind first-place Arsenal.
A new year, same old feeling: another night when Liverpool's chances of finishing in the top four just got a little bit more difficult.
The Reds keep making things more difficult for themselves than necessary; on Monday, they gave up the opening goal for the 13th time in 26 games across all competitions this season. They also put on a terrible first-half display.
Liverpool might now drop seven points off the top four depending on other teams' fortunes over the following few days, but they would have been eyeing a chance to pass Tottenham into fifth place.
It will put even more pressure on both the newly signed Cody Gakpo and the club as a whole to support Klopp even more in the transfer market. The Liverpool manager has stated categorically that the club "cannot splash the cash" this month, especially while new owners are being sought, and that it may be necessary to look within. The 23-year-old Gakpo is anticipated to score goals.
Even while the Reds did at least become better after the break, their final stats of 72.5% possession and just one goal showed that they were a significantly underwhelming squad overall.
blogpay
