Comment: surging Liverpool crashed hard at Brentford, Klopp spared no criticism of referee and VAR

Liverpool failed to extend their run of four Premier League wins and lost their first game of 2023 away to Brentford 1-3. Coach Klopp confirmed that he can get hot and spared no criticism on the performance of the referees or the VAR system.

Liverpool’s performances so far this year have been a rollercoaster. Just when it looked like the Reds were getting going and confirming their role as a serious title contender, there came a big wobble at Brentford.

The first half in particular was a horror for the Liverpool players, as Brentford went into the lead after an own goal by Konate. Brentford subsequently struck twice more, but once the Bees’ joy was cut short by a disallowed offside.

Liverpool’s surge in the second half when Oxlade-Chamberlain reduced it to 1:2 came to naught as Brentford players took a two-goal lead back moments before the end.

It was a game in which both teams created very dangerous chances and Brentford confirmed that they are simply a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League this season in the higher tiers rather than the relegation ones.

Brentford confirmed that its good results come from solid defending and players threatening mainly from standard situations and counter attacks. After all, two goals fell today after a Bees corner kick, but one was disallowed for offside.

Coach Klopp in particular was very critical after the loss, as he didn’t like the physical play of the Bees, as in his opinion their emphasis was often beyond the rules.

This was especially evident during the third regulation goal, when Klopp said that an offensive foul should have been whistled on Konaté, who was allegedly illegally pushed off the ball by Mbeumo and subsequently scored.

Klopp also recalled that pre-season instructions were given that just such interventions would be unconditionally whistled as a foul in the penalty area. But he said that promise was not kept.

The question is whether the referee judged the disputed tackle as having been made outside the penalty area. However, VAR did not intervene in this case, so he saw the situation as clear and correctly assessed by the referee.

According to Klopp, the match was thus not managed by the referees and, in particular, the situation preceding the Bees’ third goal was incorrectly assessed by the referee and VAR.

The Reds thus missed a chance to get closer to Manchester United, who hold fourth place. Despite some hesitations in the past matches, I expect Liverpool to improve and build on their previous winning streak.

Sources: Sky Sports, Mirror, Facebook