Despite all the failings, Manchester United legend backs Darwin Nunez

Liverpool lost further ground in the race for one of the top four places in the English Premier League as they went down 3-1 away to Brentford on Monday. Defensive lapses cost the Reds two first-half goals and caused a disgruntled Jürgen Klopp to order the substitution of Virgil van Dijk, the main figure at the back, at halftime.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain brought the visitors close with a goal, but Bryan Mbeumo buried Liverpool's hopes as they lost to Brentford for the first time since 1938 in any competition. Brentford climbed from 10th to seventh in the table. It is now two points behind Liverpool.  An own goal by Ibrahima Konaté gave the Bees the lead, and they extended the deficit late in the first half with a header from Yoane Wissa, the replacement for Ivan Toney, who is Brentford's leading scorer with 13 goals in the campaign.

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Two Wissa goals were disallowed earlier for offside in a fast-paced first half. Uruguay's Darwin Nunez continued to squander chances in front of goal for Liverpool. He was fed by Mohamed Salah and evaded Spanish goalkeeper David Raya before firing low. However, Ben Mee arrived in time to slide and block the shot.

Brentford took the lead when the ball bounced off the knee of Konaté, a World Cup finalist with France, and out of Alisson's reach. Mbeumo's corners continued to cause the visitors problems. Wissa found two to send them into the net, although both goals were disallowed. Third time lucky for the winger four minutes before half-time. He scored with a superb header from Mathias Jensen's cross. Alisson reached out to handle the ball, but referee Stuart Attwell used the electronic system linked to his watch to confirm the ball had crossed the goal line.

<strong>Ferdinand defends Darwin Nunez</strong>

The unfortunate Nunez rattled the net shortly after the restart after a one-on-one with Raya. But the goal was disallowed by video refereeing (VAR) for an offside position. But Rio Ferdinand came out to defend him: "What I like about him is that he is getting the chances. I would be more concerned if he wasn't getting the chances. He's a young player. He is growing into the game. It's a new league. I think there is more to come from him."