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Beesotted contributor The Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s loss at Anfield.

Thomas Frank made one change to his starting XI that faced Crystal Palace, with Keane Lewis-Potter replacing Kevin Schade. Surprisingly, the Bees came out in a 4-4-2 instead of using a back 5, which is common against Big 6 sides. Ajer, Pinnock, Collins, and Roerslev formed the backline. Lewis-Potter, Janelt, Nørgaard, and Jensen started in midfield, while Wissa and Mbeumo the front two.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool side came out in a 4-2-3-1 with Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, and Robertson across the backline. Liverpool’s midfield consisted of Gravenberch, Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai. Salah and Diaz the wingers with Jota up top. Slot had plenty of firepower on the bench with Gakpo, Endo, and Nunez looking to make an impact.

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Summary

Rather than launching long ball,s focused on building out of the back, rather than launching long balls, but failed to amount much of an attack. When the Bees sporadically beat the press to get Mbeumo or Wissa in 1v1 matchups against Liverpool’s centrebacks on the wing, Liverpool quickly regained their shape so it was hard to take advantage of those situations.

Out of possession, Brentford’s press was relatively ineffective. The Bees ended with 32.40 passes per defensive actions (PPDA), which is more than any match last season. Typically, this would indicate teams weren’t pressing high up the pitch, but Liverpool’s 90% passing accuracy suggests they could easily pass out of it.

Liverpool quickly switched play or used their wingers receiving progressive passes to bypass the press and move into the voided space. The wingers, Salah and Diaz, received a combined 18 progressive passes, which helped take advantage of Brentford’s hybrid pressing system.

Liverpool took advantage of Brentford out of their defensive shape by scoring their goals on a Brentford corner and counterpressing to win back possession. Thomas Frank will be thrilled when Rico Henry is able to reprise his rest defence role on set plays. Brentford has evolved to build out of the back, even against top sides, but is remains to be seen if this continues against Big 6 clubs that want to bait the press to take advantage of these transitional moments.