Liverpool 3 Brentford 0
Liverpool welcomed Brentford to Anfield with Thomas Frank’s side needing to ruin one of the best home records in the Premier League if they wanted to come away with all three points. Jurgen Klopp’s side had only lost one of their last forty-seven games at home in the league.
The Reds were depleted with a number of injuries and suspensions causing the German to rotate his squad for the visit of The Bees. Brentford started the game well with both Wissa and Pinnock having huge chances to give the visitors the lead.
Szoboszlai had an effort outside the box, which he dragged wide of the target, only to find Nunez who controlled and calmly slotted home. Sadly for the Uruguayan, the assistant immediately raised their flag to disallow the goal for offside.
As the replay showed, the striker was desperately unlucky as the margins were so tight you could be forgiven for questioning whether it was a goal. Who are we to question the crazy lines VAR draw, evidently freehand in a moving car, to make these huge decisions.
Credit: @LFC
Tsimikas then swung in a corner, met by the head of van Dijk, but Flekken made a world class save to keep it out. As Brentford struggled to clear the ball, Nunez scored with a sublime overhead kick, only to see this ruled out for offside also.
No one could argue this decision as the replay showed that the Liverpool striker was offside by a country mile on this occasion. It was not proving to be his day, bad news for anyone who had him in their fantasy league team.
Brentford then caught Liverpool out with their own game as Janelt played a phenomenal pass to Mbuemo, who got in front of the last man and headed towards goal. Only the slightest of touches from Alisson could deny the visiting striker the first goal of the game.
They were left to rue this missed chance as Nunez played a brilliant pass into the path of Salah, who took one touch to get it onto his left foot, and then stroked the ball past Flekken in the Brentford goal to give Klopp’s side a deserved lead.
As the second half started, Liverpool midfielder Endo slide into a 50/50 with Norgaard, leaving the Brentford player on the ground writhing around in pain. VAR checked for a possible red card but decided it was to not be the case.
Thomas Frank was not happy with the decision as he stood on the touchline wagging his finger and shaking his head. Looking at the replay, Endo only had his eyes on the ball, although the follow through did catch the player there seemed no intent.
Credit: @premierleague
This is where we are with the game of football now, we have had such silly red cards for the most innocuous tackles that everyone now thinks this is a non-contact sport and any such contact should be punished with a dismissal.
In the same manner, everyone seems to think that every foul warrants a yellow card. Before we had this glut of terrible refereeing, it was common knowledge what kind of challenges brought cards but now we are left in this limbo of the unknown.
Liverpool then seemed to seal the game as Tsimikas clipped the ball over from the byline for Salah to head home for his 200th goal in English football. The Egyptian had to wait for confirmation as Brentford claimed the ball to have gone out. VAR disagreed.
Salt was then rubbed in the wound as Liverpool’s Greek full back played the ball to Jota, who cut inside onto his right foot, and drilled a shot past Flekken into the top corner. It was a fantastic finish by the Portuguese attacker.
To sum up the madness of the game we love, Thomas Frank said when asked about Endo’s challenge ‘I do not think this is a red card but yellow. However, in the VAR world, considering red cards they have given then this is also one.’
Jurgen Klopp’s side took all three points to move to second place in the table, only a point behind Man City. When we resume after the international break, the top two will meet in a titanic clash which is a thought to get us through the next two weeks.
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