Ian Doyle with the main talking point from Liverpool's Premier League clash at Brentford on Saturday afternoon
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: Andoni Iraola, Manager of Liverpool, applauds the fans after the Premier League 2026/27 match between Brentford and Liverpool FC at Gtech Community Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Head coach Andoni Iraola and match-winner Alexander Isak applaud the travelling Kop after Liverpool's win at Brentford(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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Another weekend, another contentious red card. And having been steeled for a scrap, this latest trip to Brentford was transformed into a very different battle for Andoni Iraola and his Liverpool players.
Having been on receiving end of a controversial dismissal at home to Manchester City last weekend, this time the Reds, trailing 1-0, were the beneficiaries of a soft red card shortly before half-time.
Yehor Yarmoliuk was given his marching orders after referee John Brooks, having been invited to consult his pitchside monitor by VAR Darren England, ultimately adjudged the Brentford man had made a head-butting motion towards Jeremy Jacquet.
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Contact was minimal and if anything the defender was attempting an unwise show of strength by thrusting his chest into Jacquet only to perhaps be rather too enthusiastic in his approach.
But Yarmoliuk, much like Ryan Gravenberch last Sunday, gave the officials a decision to make. And with such instances normally ending in only one way, the red card was almost inevitable.
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If Liverpool never recovered from going down to 10 men against City, here the challenge was to make the most of the numerical advantage while also demonstrating their growing resilience under Iraola.
The Reds had already come from behind to beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this season while doing likewise to earn Premier League draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
And in overturning a deficit here following Keane Lewis-Potter’s first-half header, Liverpool have already matched the number of times they achieved such a feat during the entirety of the previous campaign.
It wasn’t overly convincing during a final 10 minutes in which Brentford began to capitalise on some tiring legs while the Reds were guilty of overelaborating when offered clear chances to seal the game on the counter-attack.
But after Victor Munoz’s spirited showing brought a deserved equaliser, Alexander Isak, back leading the line having missed the last two games through injury, produced a lethal finish worthy of his £125million price tag to settle the match.
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: Victor Munoz of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Virgil van Dijk during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Brentford and Liverpool FC at Gtech Community Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Victor Munoz is congratulated about captain Virgil van Dijk after firing Liverpool level at Brentford (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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Chants of “2-1 to the referee” boomed from the home fans when home skipper Vitaly Janelt followed Yarmoliuk for an early bath after picking up a second yellow card and subsequent red for hauling down rampaging substitute Rio Ngumoha.
This, though, was instead a Liverpool victory forged on a self-belief and mentality that is slowly but surely being rebuilt under Iraola. Not pretty, but job done.