Brentford 1-2 Liverpool: Isak completes comeback against nine-man Bees

Isak strikes late as Liverpool complete turnaround

Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Brentford 2-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, 17 October 2026, with second-half goals from Víctor Muñoz and Alexander Isak completing a comeback that keeps the Reds firmly in the Premier League's top five chase. The win ended Brentford's unbeaten start to the league season and gave Andoni Iraola's side a badly needed response after the 3-0 drubbing by Manchester City a week earlier.

Keane Lewis-Potter had headed the hosts in front on 44 minutes, Igor Thiago clipping a clever cross to the penalty spot for the full-back to guide a wonderful header into the far corner. The lead lasted barely a minute in real terms. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Yehor Yarmoliuk stood his ground and pressed his head into the face of Liverpool defender Jeremy Jacquet in the penalty area; referee John Brooks reviewed the incident on the VAR monitor and produced a straight red card for what he described as a "headbutting action". There was no penalty because the ball was not in play from the corner at the moment of contact.

Ten men, then nine: the numbers turn

Brentford started with genuine energy, pressing with intensity and looking dangerous on the counter, but Yarmoliuk's dismissal left them defending a one-goal lead with ten men for the entire second half. Liverpool seized control immediately.

The equaliser arrived in the 62nd minute. Florian Wirtz threaded the perfect through ball, Muñoz cut in from the right, chopped the ball onto his left foot and curled a low finish into the bottom corner. Eight minutes later the turnaround was complete. Alexis Mac Allister's delivery was nodded back across goal by Bradley Barcola, and Isak took one touch and finished clinically across Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for his fifth Premier League goal of the season.

"Super-happy with the win. It's a tough ground, it's a tough team to play, especially away from home," Isak told reporters after the match. "It was more about concentration. I didn't have too many chances and I was waiting for my moment. That was the one. I just tried to get control of the ball and finish as quickly as possible and luckily it went in."

Liverpool pushed for a third, with Barcola twice going close including a curled effort that struck the crossbar, but Brentford's afternoon deteriorated further when Vitaly Janelt collected a second yellow card in stoppage time for fouling Rio Ngumoha. The Bees finished with nine men, yet nearly snatched a 2-2 draw when Igor Thiago failed to get clean contact on a low cross at the front post.

Iraola's injury headache grows

The three points came at a cost Liverpool could not ignore. Dominik Szoboszlai went down off the ball in the 32nd minute and had to be withdrawn for teenager Trey Nyoni, clearly upset as he left the pitch. The Hungarian had been a late scratch against Manchester City the previous weekend with a hamstring problem and had only just returned to the starting line-up.

"He has tried, he has trained the last days, but we didn't know the minutes he'd have. It's not another injury, he's still not healed," Iraola told Sky Sports, confirming Szoboszlai is still managing the same hamstring issue rather than a fresh problem.

Jeremie Frimpong's afternoon was even shorter. Introduced at half-time in place of Ronald Araujo to add attacking thrust against ten men, the Dutch wing-back lasted only eight minutes before limping off with what looked like a muscle injury, making way for Ngumoha in the 53rd minute. Iraola said Frimpong had finished Liverpool's 6-3 Champions League win at LASK in midweek suffering cramps and was never going to start the game. "We were playing against 10 and I thought he was going to give us more going forwards, but he felt straight away something in the muscle," he added.

What the result means

The victory moves Liverpool to 12 points from seven matches, lifting them above Brentford, who stay on 10. After the humiliation against City, a workmanlike win at one of the league's most difficult away grounds keeps Iraola's project moving forward, even if the injuries to Szoboszlai and Frimpong will cast a shadow over the week ahead.

There were genuine positives to take. Wirtz pulled the strings after the break with a level of creativity Liverpool have lacked, Muñoz showed the composure of a top-level finisher, and Isak's winner was the kind of ruthless, one-touch finish the club signed him for. Barcola, signed from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth up to £123 million according to Reuters, was a constant threat from the left even while spurning two gilt-edged chances — first clipping wide of Kelleher, then striking the crossbar.

Brentford, meanwhile, suffered defeat for the first time this season despite being set up to win. Keith Andrews' side led and had Liverpool rattled in the first half, Michael Kayode driving impressively down the flank, but Yarmoliuk's moment of madness changed everything. Both players will now miss upcoming matches through suspension, and Andrews must lift a group that went from controlling a match against a title contender to finishing with nine men in the space of an hour.

"There is still lots to improve but we are taking steps and obviously grabbing points on the way which is important. It is a tough place to come to so three points is really good," Isak added. For Liverpool, the improvement is real but fragile — the next fixtures will demand results without two of the players who make Iraola's system tick.