Brentford 1-2 Liverpool · Premier League · Gtech Community Stadium · 17 October 2026

Liverpool needed this.

There is no point pretending Brentford being reduced to 10 men just before half-time did not change the game. They went down to nine in stoppage time too. Liverpool had the numerical advantage for the entire second half and should be beating a team in those circumstances.

But they still had to do it.

Liverpool were 1-0 down, their league start had been poor and another failure to win would have brought serious criticism for Andoni Iraola. Not pressure on his job — it is far too early for that — but questions about why a squad with this much quality had taken so few points from its opening seven games.

Instead, Liverpool leave Brentford with three.

And Alexander Isak got them.

Keane Lewis-Potter had put Brentford ahead just before half-time, heading past Alisson to leave Liverpool staring at another damaging afternoon. Then came the moment that changed the contest, Yehor Yarmoliuk sent off for violent conduct following a clash with Jérémy Jacquet in first-half stoppage time.

From there, there were no excuses.

Liverpool had to take advantage.

Víctor Muñoz eventually produced the equaliser after 62 minutes, cutting onto his left foot and finishing low past Caoimhín Kelleher, and once again showed why the roughly £35 million Liverpool paid is beginning to look like excellent business.

Muñoz is an absolute pest. He is rapid, never seems to stop running and makes life miserable for a full-back. There will be tougher tests and it is still early, but he looks like the sort of player who is going to give defenders a game every week.

Eight minutes after the equaliser came the decisive moment.

Bradley Barcola headed the ball back to Isak and Liverpool's centre-forward did what top centre-forwards are bought to do.

He won the game.

Sometimes the value of an elite striker is that simple. It is not about being brilliant for 90 minutes or dominating every phase of a match. It is about getting the chance that can decide a game and taking it.

Isak did that at Brentford.

It was his fifth Premier League goal of the season and, for me, Liverpool still have not seen the Newcastle version of Isak consistently. That should be encouraging rather than concerning. Keep him fit, keep giving him chances and there should be considerably more to come.

Who knows what Liverpool are playing for when April and May arrive? But seasons are built on moments like this. An away game that looked as though it was slipping away, a chance inside the box and your number nine turns one point into three.

Those goals can become enormous by the end of a season.

Barcola's contribution to the winner deserves credit, but I am still not completely convinced by him.

He deserves time. He has only just arrived, and a hat-trick in Europe followed by an assist for the winner here is hardly a bad week's work.

But there are moments that still worry me.

His first-half one-on-one was really poor. Late in the game, with Liverpool given the opportunity to finish Brentford off on the counterattack, Koumas was in acres of space and Barcola lost possession instead. At 2-1, those decisions can matter.

There is clearly a huge talent there. I just don't think we know exactly what Liverpool have got yet.

One youngster who did make an impression was Rio Ngumoha. He came into a tense game and handled it well, playing with the confidence to get involved rather than simply trying to survive his minutes.

At the other end, Jacquet continues to look outstanding.

I wrote recently that I think he is already the best centre-back in the Premier League, and nothing at Brentford changed my mind. Alongside him, Virgil van Dijk was excellent again. At 35, he continues to perform at a level that should not really be taken for granted.

Brentford eventually finished with nine after Vitaly Janelt received a second yellow in stoppage time, but Liverpool's work had already been done.

It was not a perfect performance. Playing against 10 men for a half means nobody should start pretending this was some extraordinary backs-against-the-wall victory.

It was something Liverpool needed more than that.

It was a win.

After the start they have made in the league, three points away from home, from 1-0 down, with Isak scoring the winner, matters far more than making it look pretty.

Liverpool have got plenty to improve.

For today, though, they got the most important thing right.