LONDON: Brentford delivered a stunning blow to Premier League champions Liverpool with a deserved 3-2 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Liverpool had appeared to regain form with an emphatic midweek win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, ending a run of four successive defeats. However, their frailties resurfaced against Brentford.

Just five minutes in, Brentford took the lead through Dango Ouatarra after Michael Kayode’s long throw created chaos in the Liverpool defence.

Kristoffer Ajer’s flick-on provided the perfect setup for Ouatarra to score. The home side continued to press, doubling their advantage on the stroke of half-time.

Kevin Schade latched onto Mikkel Damsgaard’s exquisite through-ball to beat goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Milos Kerkez gave Liverpool hope with a goal in first-half stoppage time, but Brentford maintained the upper hand.

An hour into the game, Brentford were awarded a penalty following a VAR review that ruled Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk had fouled Ouatarra on the edge of the box.

Igor Thiago converted from the spot, restoring Brentford’s two-goal lead.

Mohamed Salah’s late instinctive finish reduced the deficit, but Liverpool could not recover, suffering their fourth consecutive league defeat — a bitter setback for manager Arne Slot.

The defeat leaves Liverpool in sixth place, four points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Crystal Palace on Sunday. Brentford climb to 10th following their fourth win of the season.