A match that had everything, and then some more

If you were after a quiet Saturday afternoon, you picked the wrong fixture. Liverpool came away from the Gtech Community Stadium with three points from a 2-1 victory over Brentford, but the scoreline does very little to capture just how bizarre and breathless this match actually was. Two red cards, two Liverpool substitutes forced off injured, a penalty given and then taken away, this was football at its most chaotic, and the Reds navigated it well enough to climb to fifth in the Premier League table.

The day had started with genuinely good news. Both Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander Isak were passed fit to start, and Cody Gakpo was back on the bench after his own injury lay-off. The optimism did not last long, though. Szoboszlai lasted just 32 minutes before signalling he needed to come off, with Trey Nyoni coming on to replace the Hungary captain in what will inevitably raise fresh questions about his fitness.

Brentford take the lead, then lose their head

Liverpool thought they had wrestled back momentum when referee John Brooks pointed to the spot after Alexis Mac Allister went down under a challenge from Dango Ouattara. The penalty was overturned on review, and moments later Brentford made the Reds pay. Keane Lewis-Potter took advantage of some poor marking to head the home side in front on 44 minutes, and Liverpool went in at the break trailing.

But the half ended in extraordinary fashion. Brooks was sent back to his monitor and concluded that Yehor Yarmolyuk had headbutted Jeremy Jacquet. The Brentford midfielder was sent off, and suddenly a difficult afternoon had tilted sharply in Liverpool's favour. It remained to be seen whether they could take advantage.

Munoz and Isak turn the tide

Andoni Iraola brought Jeremie Frimpong on at the break to give Liverpool fresh impetus down the right, only for the substitute to limp off just seven minutes into the second half. That forced Victor Munoz across to right-back, and what followed was the kind of moment that makes you smile. Munoz picked up a pass from Florian Wirtz, drove inside, and guided a superb finish into the net on 62 minutes to level things up. A makeshift right-back, producing the equaliser. Football.

Eight minutes later Isak, who had been largely peripheral throughout, showed exactly what he is capable of. A knockdown from substitute Bradley Barcola set him up, and the striker took a touch and steered a composed left-footed finish home to put Liverpool ahead. It was the kind of clinical moment that transforms a scrappy away day into a proper winning performance. Brentford's afternoon then got even worse when Vitaly Janelt picked up a second yellow card for fouling substitute Rio Ngumoha in injury time, reducing the hosts to nine men.

What this result means going forward

Back-to-back away wins in the space of a week is a decent return by any measure, particularly given the disruption Liverpool dealt with across both matches. Losing Szoboszlai early, watching Frimpong last barely half a quarter of an hour, and still finding a way to win against a side reduced to nine men, it speaks to a squad with real resilience right now. The injury concerns will need monitoring closely, but the points are in the bag and the table is looking a little kinder.

With Gakpo back on the bench and Isak finding his finishing touch at the right moment, there is every reason to think Liverpool's attacking options will only improve from here.