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Brentford 3-3 Liverpool: Yoane Wissa rescues a point for Bees in thriller

By Matthew HowarthBBC Sport

Yoane Wissa scored a late equaliser as Brentford held Liverpool to a draw in a thrilling encounter at the Brentford Community Stadium.

Wissa's dinked finish over Alisson rescued a point for the hosts, who matched Jurgen Klopp's team for long spells and created enough opportunities to claim all three points.

Ethan Pinnock had given Thomas Frank's side a deserved early lead, poking home from close range after Ivan Toney flicked Sergi Canos' low cross into the defender's path.

Diogo Jota brought the visitors level just three minutes later, rising unmarked to head Jordan Henderson's looping cross into the corner from the edge of the six-yard box.

Mohamed Salah's 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool put the Reds ahead for the first time in the match, only for Vitaly Janelt to equalise once more after Pontus Jansson had rattled the crossbar.

Curtis Jones restored the visitors' lead with a long-range drive that took a wicked deflection off Kristoffer Ajer on its way in, but Brentford - and Wissa - had the last word.

The draw lifts unbeaten Liverpool a point clear at the top of the Premier League, with the Bees climbing to ninth.

Brentford 3-3 Liverpool: Thomas Frank delighted with 'fantastic' performance

Salah's century ruined by magnificent Bees

Brentford have come a long way since their last meeting with Liverpool - a 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat in the 1988-89 season - and they certainly gave the Reds a run for their money in a pulsating, breathless contest that could have gone either way.

Both teams had efforts cleared off the line in a frantic opening, Ajer denying Salah with a last-gasp lunge before Joel Matip hacked Bryan Mbeumo's effort out of harm's way at the other end.

Toney and Frank Onyeka also went close for the Bees, who eventually took a deserved lead from the unlikeliest of sources, Pinnock sliding home for his first Premier League goal.

The hosts were in front for just three minutes, however, as Jota headed Henderson's delivery beyond David Raya for his third league goal of the campaign.

The visitors ended the first half in the ascendency and it took a fabulous piece of goalkeeping by Raya to deny Jota his second of the game after Jones' shot had rebounded off the post and into the Portuguese's path.

The Brentford goalkeeper managed to get a hand to Salah's effort nine minutes into the second half, but was unable to prevent it crossing the line for the Egyptian's 100th league goal for the Reds.

Salah is the 13th player to reach a century of league goals for the club, and the fourth to do so in the Premier League era after Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen.

Brentford 3-3 Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp says his side 'couldn't handle' Brentford

Undeterred, Frank's side kept pushing forward and equalised once more through Janelt, with Jones unable to get to the ball before it crossed the line.

Jones' thunderous drive put Liverpool back in the driving seat and Salah should have given the Reds a crucial two-goal cushion, but the 29-year-old's chipped effort landed on the roof of the net.

That miss proved costly as Wissa - who had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes after replacing Christian Norgaard - clipped the ball over the onrushing Alisson to complete the scoring.

That was not the end of the drama, however.

Toney rifled the ball into the bottom corner with three minutes remaining to send the home fans into raptures, only for the offside flag to cut short their celebrations.

But Frank and his players were given a fantastic reception at the final whistle after claiming a hard-earned point that continues their fantastic start to life in the top flight.

Player of the match

ToneyIvan Toney

with an average of 7.71

Brentford

  1. Squad number17Player nameToney
    Average rating

    7.71

  2. Squad number1Player nameRaya
    Average rating

    7.52

  3. Squad number19Player nameMbeumo
    Average rating

    7.43

  4. Squad number11Player nameWissa
    Average rating

    7.40

  5. Squad number3Player nameHenry
    Average rating

    7.30

  6. Squad number5Player namePinnock
    Average rating

    7.28

  7. Squad number27Player nameJanelt
    Average rating

    7.28

  8. Squad number6Player nameNørgaard
    Average rating

    7.26

  9. Squad number20Player nameAjer
    Average rating

    7.16

  10. Squad number18Player nameJansson
    Average rating

    7.07

  11. Squad number15Player nameOnyeka
    Average rating

    7.07

  12. Squad number7Player nameCanós
    Average rating

    7.02

  13. Squad number22Player nameM Jorgensen
    Average rating

    6.99

  14. Squad number26Player nameBaptiste
    Average rating

    6.81

Liverpool

  1. Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah
    Average rating

    6.80

  2. Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota
    Average rating

    6.53

  3. Squad number17Player nameJones
    Average rating

    6.32

  4. Squad number14Player nameHenderson
    Average rating

    6.10

  5. Squad number3Player nameFabinho
    Average rating

    5.89

  6. Squad number4Player namevan Dijk
    Average rating

    5.88

  7. Squad number10Player nameMané
    Average rating

    5.72

  8. Squad number1Player nameAlisson
    Average rating

    5.70

  9. Squad number9Player nameRoberto Firmino
    Average rating

    5.60

  10. Squad number26Player nameRobertson
    Average rating

    5.59

  11. Squad number32Player nameMatip
    Average rating

    5.53

  12. Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold
    Average rating

    5.47

Line-ups

Brentford

Formation 3-5-2

  • 1Raya
  • 20Ajer
  • 18Jansson
  • 5PinnockSubstituted forM Jorgensenat 43'minutes
  • 7Canós
  • 15OnyekaBooked at 44minsSubstituted forBaptisteat 68'minutes
  • 6NørgaardSubstituted forWissaat 78'minutes
  • 27Janelt
  • 3Henry
  • 19Mbeumo
  • 17Toney

Substitutes

  • 8Jensen
  • 9Forss
  • 11Wissa
  • 14Ghoddos
  • 22M Jorgensen
  • 26Baptiste
  • 28Bidstrup
  • 30Roerslev
  • 40Fernández

Liverpool

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Alisson
  • 66Alexander-Arnold
  • 32Matip
  • 4van Dijk
  • 26RobertsonBooked at 70mins
  • 14Henderson
  • 3Fabinho
  • 17JonesSubstituted forFirminoat 68'minutes
  • 11Salah
  • 20Jota
  • 10Mané

Substitutes

  • 5Konaté
  • 7Milner
  • 9Firmino
  • 12Gomez
  • 15Oxlade-Chamberlain
  • 18Minamino
  • 21Tsimikas
  • 27Origi
  • 62Kelleher
Referee:
Stuart Attwell
Attendance:
16,876

Match Stats

Home TeamBrentfordAway TeamLiverpool
Possession
Home33%
Away67%
Shots
Home12
Away16
Shots on Target
Home4
Away6
Corners
Home2
Away11
Fouls
Home8
Away7

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Brentford 3, Liverpool 3.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Brentford 3, Liverpool 3.

  3. Post update

    Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Kristoffer Ajer.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Rico Henry.

  5. Post update

    Fabinho (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  6. Post update

    Foul by Ivan Toney (Brentford).

  7. Post update

    Offside, Brentford. Zanka tries a through ball, but Ivan Toney is caught offside.

  8. Post update

    Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Fabinho (Liverpool).

  10. Post update

    Shandon Baptiste (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    VAR Decision: Goal Brentford - Brentford 3-3 Liverpool (Yoane Wissa).

  12. Goal!

    Goal! Brentford 3, Liverpool 3. Yoane Wissa (Brentford) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the centre of the goal.Goal confirmed following VAR Review.

  13. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Yoane Wissa (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

  14. Post update

    Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Sergi Canós.

  15. Post update

    Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Pontus Jansson.

  16. Substitution

    Substitution, Brentford. Yoane Wissa replaces Christian Nørgaard.

  17. Post update

    Offside, Liverpool. Mohamed Salah tries a through ball, but Sadio Mané is caught offside.

  18. Post update

    Attempt missed. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Sadio Mané with a through ball.

  19. Post update

    Offside, Liverpool. Trent Alexander-Arnold tries a through ball, but Mohamed Salah is caught offside.

  20. Post update

    Sadio Mané (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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