Liverpool started 2023 in defeat as they were beaten in London by Brentford 3-1 with goals coming from Ben Mee, Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbuemo for the home side.
Brentford were all over The Reds in the first half and had two goals disallowed as well as the two they scored.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got one back for Jurgen Klopp’s men to give them some hope shortly after Darwin Nunez had a goal ruled out due to being just offside.
Mbuemo got the third to end the contest though after he nudged Ibrahim Konate off the ball to give himself all the time in the world to slot past Alisson.
The next game for both of these sides will be in the FA Cup as Liverpool will be taking on Wolves as the holders of the competition.
Player ratings
Alisson: 8
Made a good save before the first goal and an amazing double save before the first offside goal. Maybe didn’t make himself as big for the third goal as he anticipated a foul being given.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7
Fantastic assist for the Oxlade-Chamberlain goal. Was the creative force throughout but arguably to blame for the second goal as he let Wissa head in under pressure but he had another man to mark.
Ibrahim Konate: 3
Poor from the corner that opened the scoring and was awfully weak for the third goal.
Virgil Van Dijk: 3
Went off injured at half-time. Would not have been a surprise if he had just been taken off as Liverpool were all at sea in the first half.
Kostas Tsimikas: 3
The fact the game changed when Robertson came on for him says a lot. Made a lot of mistakes but done well in some aerial duels. Didn’t impress with a rare start.
Fabinho: 5
Has looked better in recent games but is still nowhere near his usual standards. Had a long a distance effort parried away and was trying his best to probe the Brentford defence.
Thiago: 5
Was anonymous in the first half and then turned up for the second 45 minutes as he was unfortunate to not get an assist with Nunez’s offside goal.
Harvey Elliot: 2
Was at fault for the second goal due to trying to dummy it, really naive. Disappointing game didn’t establish himself at all.
Mo Salah: 3
Was absent for the majority of the game. Didn’t have a big chance.
Darwin Nunez: 4
Unlucky to not get a goal in the opening ten minutes after a miraculous block on the line. Was again unfortunate to be just offside for the potential equaliser which he took well. Overall play wasn’t the best.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6
Was impressive in a role which everyone knows he doesn’t want to play. Brilliant header to give Liverpool some hope and was unlucky not to get an assist in the first half with a cheeky little pass to Tsimikas who could not finish.
Substitutions:
Andy Robertson (Kostas Tsimikas 45): 6
Changed the game for the first half-an-hour of the second half. On a different level to Tsimikas.
Joel Matip (Virgil Van Dijk 45): 6
Was an improvement on Van Dijk and his creativity from centre back was clear to see with some mazy dribbles. Should be a starter.
Naby Keita (Harvey Elliott 45): 6.5
A half which may well save his Liverpool career. Ran the midfield when he came on and done a lot more than Elliott. His progressive passes through the lines threated Brentford. Lost the ball in the build-up to the third goal Konate should have done so much better. Interesting to see if Klopp now gives him the nod amidst Liverpool’s midfield crisis.
