18 January 2025
Brentford 0 Liverpool 2
Brentford had made a bit of a name for themselves as a tricky away game this season in the Premier League. That was going to be put to the test as leaders Liverpool came to the capital. Questions were being asked about Slot’s side as they had yet to win a league match in the calendar year. With many of their rivals playing later that weekend, it was a chance to extend their lead at the top.
The Bees had shown in midweek that they were no pushovers as they came back from two goals down to salvage a draw late on against Man City. One thing you would never bet on this campaign was a goalless draw, with the Gtech Community Stadium having seen over fifty goals so far. Everyone was hoping for a high-scoring Premier League classic.
After winning the ball deep in their own half, the direct approach by Thomas Frank’s side saw them stretching the visitors. The dangerous Mbuemo did well down the right before feeding it to Roerslev. He whipped a teasing ball across the six yard box but it had too much pace on it for Damsgaard to convert in the middle. So close to breaking the deadlock.
Liverpool are so quick in transition from defence to attack. Mac Allister played a brilliant first-time ball into the feet of Gravenberch. The Dutchman looked to ping one into the bottom corner but Flekken got down well to tip it around the post. Moments later Szoboszlai went onto a mazy run into the box but his finish was poor and made for an easy save for the Brentford keeper.
The Reds were starting to pile on the pressure but much of it was brought onto The Bees by themselves. As they tried to play out from the back, a loose pass evaded Janelt. The visitors worked it to Szoboszlai, who tried his luck from outside the box. Flekken was well beaten but the ball crashed against the crossbar before going over.
Mbuemo was continuing to cause Slot’s side problems. That really underpins how the winger has the credentials to take his game to a higher level and a bigger team, should they come knocking. Rumour has it that the Brentford manager was seen tampering with the phone lines in West London, ensuring he fields no calls about any of his players in this transfer window.
The hosts were struggling to cope with the pace that Liverpool showed moving from defence to attack. Salah fed the ball into Gakpo in space at the back post. Flekken closed him down quickly and the Dutch forward tried to clip it past him first-time. There was not enough on the effort to find the net as it spun narrowly wide of the far post.
After the interval, the game continued in the same fashion. Liverpool were passing the ball around, looking to create space in the final third. One such pass found Diaz on the edge of the box but his shot was well saved by Flekken. The Columbian tried to get to the rebound and went to ground but the referee was not interested in awarding a foul, the replay showed that was a good decision.
Frank’s side were struggling to make a nuisance of themselves in the final third as we are used to seeing. When they lose the ball, Liverpool track back so quickly that The Bees were unable to find any space to utilise. Wissa was fouled out wide and won his side a free-kick after a clumsy shove from Konate. The hosts sent their centre-backs forward looking to create something.
It was whipped into the box by Mbuemo but no one in a Brentford shirt could get a telling touch. Alisson beat the ball away but the hosts recycled it well. The Bees’ playmaker had a brief sight of goal but his left-footed shot was straight at the Liverpool keeper. As Slot’s side pushed forward looking to break the deadlock, you felt it could leave some gaps in defence for the hosts to exploit.
Going into the last ten minutes of the game, it was nothing short of baffling that The Reds had not scored. They had registered in the region of thirty shots throughout the game but had not tested Flekken enough. Arsenal fans were avidly watching proceedings, with the champagne on ice, ready for when the league leaders dropped some points.
Alexander-Arnold tried his luck from distance but it narrowly missed the near post with Flekken beaten. The Reds were having to resort to shots from outside the box as they became more desperate to score. Salah tried and failed, seeing his curling effort have the same outcome as his teammate moments earlier.
The only thing the Brentford fans had to do to keep warm was to ridicule the visitors’ substitute Darwin Nunez. It seems to be the theme now that opposing fans call him a ‘s*** Andy Carroll’ not that the Uruguayan probably even knows who he is. It seemed to keep The Bees’ fans entertained nevertheless. Time was running out for the league leaders.
Into added time, Brentford were camped out in their own box. Alexander-Arnold squared the ball into the box and Nunez slotted home to surely win the game for Slot’s team. The away end erupted as it hit the back of the net, knowing how big that goal could be in the context of their push to win the Premier League title.
Brentford looked to throw players forward in search of an equaliser. Liverpool won the ball back and broke with pace, seeing them with a three on two situation. Elliott fed it into the path of Nunez, who cut inside onto his right foot to drill the ball past Flekken and make sure of the victory. The away end started to mock the hosts by singing ‘he’s just a s*** Andy Carroll’, karma is a bitch at times.
Thomas Frank said after the match, “We played a really good game against the best team in the world right now. We just played City, Arsenal and now Liverpool and for me they are a level above the other two. Their work ethic, the way they track back, they are so technical/tactical, these are really, really good.”
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