LONDON: Liverpool lost more ground in the race for a top-four English Premier League finish when it lost to Brentford 3-1 on Monday.
Sloppy defending cost Liverpool twice in the first half, prompting angry boss Jurgen Klopp to substitute key defender Virgil van Dijk at halftime.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled one back but Bryan Mbeumo killed off Liverpool as Brentford beat the visitors for the first time since 1938 in all competitions.
Brentford rose from 10th to seventh in the standings. It was two points behind Liverpool.
Ibrahima Konate’s own goal gave the Bees the lead and Yoane Wissa’s header just before halftime put them in control.
Wissa, the replacement for Ivan Toney, the Bees’ 13-goal top scorer, had two goals ruled out for offside before he scored in a breakneck first half.
Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez added to his growing catalogue of wasted opportunities in front of goal. He was slipped in behind by Mohamed Salah and took the ball around Bees goalkeeper David Raya and rolled it toward goal, only for Ben Mee to arrive in the nick of time to slide in and block.
At the other end, Wissa sent Mbeumo clean through on goal but the latter’s shot was well saved by Alisson. However, from the corner, Brentford took the lead when the ball ricocheted off the knee of France World Cup finalist Konate and squirmed past Alisson.
Mbeumo’s corners continued to cause the visitors problems and Wissa put two of them into the net only for both goals to be chalked off.
However, the winger made it third time lucky four minutes before halftime when he buried a superb header from Mathias Jensen’s cross. Alisson got a hand to the ball and scooped it out but referee Stuart Attwell’s watch buzzed to confirm Wissa finally had his goal.
Klopp had seen enough of the shambles at the back and replaced Van Dijk with Joel Matip as one of three halftime changes.
The luckless Nunez managed to find the net shortly after the restart after breaking through one on one with Raya, only for VAR to pull him up for offside.
Moments later, Liverpool made one count, Oxlade-Chamberlain glancing in a header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s tempting cross.
They pressed for an equalizer but Raya did well to keep out a Fabinho shot and Konate headed wide.
Brentford ended their hopes six minutes from time after Mbeumo brushed off a feeble challenge by Konate and tucked away the third.
Sloppy Liverpool tumble again in loss at Brentford
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Sloppy Liverpool tumble again in loss at Brentford
Record prize of up to $200k for a 9-darter at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters
- Players who complete a perfect leg will receive $100,000, with the chance to double it by hitting the bullseye with a bonus 10th dart
- 8 Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on 8 of Asia’s top players in the tournament on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City
RIYADH: Players at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in Riyadh next week have a chance to win a record-breaking cash prize for a nine-dart finish, with up to $200,000 up for grabs for a perfect leg.
Eight Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on eight of Asia’s leading players at the tournament, which is part of Riyadh Season, on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City.
Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, revealed on Thursday that any player who hits a perfect nine-darter during the event will receive a $100,000 bonus, with the chance to double it through the Riyadh Season Bullseye Challenge.
With the leg already won, the player will throw a 10th dart, and if it hits the bullseye the prize will be doubled to $200,000, the biggest amount ever offered by a PDC-sanctioned event for a nine-darter.
Reigning world champion Luke Littler, who will head the line-up in Riyadh, previously hit a nine-darter on the World Series of Darts stage at the Bahrain Masters in 2024.
He will be joined by 2023/24 world champion Luke Humphries, world championship runner-up Gian van Veen, and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
The PDC contingent also includes former world champion Gerwyn Price, world No. 7 Stephen Bunting, former UK Open winner Danny Noppert, and 2023 World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall.
Asia will be represented by Singapore veteran Paul Lim, who in 1990 famously threw the first televised World Darts Championship nine-darter, alongside Filipinos Alexis Toylo, Lourence Ilagan and Paolo Nebrida, Japan’s Motomu Sakai, Ryusei Azemoto and Tomoya Goto, and Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung.
