Brentford's head coach has his say on the red card

Keith Andrews was not about to let the afternoon pass without raising an eyebrow at the incident that changed the match. Speaking after Brentford's 2-1 Premier League defeat to Liverpool at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, the Bees boss suggested Jeremy Jacquet had been "cute and clever" in the lead-up to Yehor Yarmoliuk's dismissal, while conceding his own player needed to show better judgement.

Yarmoliuk was shown a straight red card in first-half added time after referee John Brooks reviewed the incident on his pitchside monitor and adjudged the defender to have made a head-butting motion towards Jacquet. At that point, Brentford were in front through a Keane Lewis-Potter header and looking in decent shape. The dismissal, Andrews felt, handed Liverpool exactly the foothold they needed.

What Andrews actually said

"We need to look at ourselves first, which we always do," Andrews told reporters. "We don't really look at what part they play in the incident. I do think they were cute and clever but Yehor needs to do better. Look at where Jacquet is walking, he isn't walking to the ball, he is walking into Yehor."

Andrews was careful not to let his frustration spill entirely in the direction of the officials or Liverpool. He was quick to defend Yarmoliuk the person while making clear the young defender's reaction was unacceptable regardless of provocation. "He is clearly disappointed. He is an amazing young man and you need to remember he is very young and someone we love working with and he will learn from it," he added.

Nine men and a mountain to climb

Brentford's afternoon went from difficult to desperate when captain Vitaly Janelt received a second yellow card late in additional time for a foul on Liverpool substitute Rio Ngumoha, leaving the Bees with nine men. Andrews had mixed feelings about that one too. "I've seen both of Vitaly's yellows back," he said. "Overall I like our players playing with emotion and I like us to play on the edge and when you do that and you think some decisions aren't fair, that can be very difficult for our players. They become frustrated, our players aren't robots. The second booking he showed honesty to get back and make a challenge and most midfielders wouldn't have been able to get back in. So could there have been more commonsense? I think so."

Of the defeat itself, Brentford's first of the season, Andrews acknowledged Liverpool's quality whilst maintaining his side had been in a good place before the red card arrived. "We played against a very good side with pretty special individuals in it," he said. "But obviously the sending-off changes the dynamic of the game and it is more of a challenge and gives them an advantage." Liverpool had overturned the deficit in the second half through goals from Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak to seal a 2-1 win, and Andrews knows his squad will need to dust themselves down quickly.

What this means going forward

For Liverpool, the three points are what matter, and a second-half comeback against ten men is exactly the kind of ruthlessness a title-challenging side needs. Whether Andrews has a legitimate grievance over the Jacquet incident will keep the debate ticking over this week, but from a red perspective the job was done when the opportunity presented itself. Brentford will have their own view on what might have been, and you suspect this one will linger for their supporters for a while yet.