Brentford fought back to take a point from Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool on Saturday night - in a wonderfully played out 3-3 draw at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Goals from Ethan Pinnock, Vitaly Janelt and Yoane Wissa late on earned a deserved share of the spoils on the day for the newly-promoted Bees, but one player who massively contributed on the day without scoring was the hosts' centre forward Ivan Toney.
Liverpool struggled to deal with their opponents in the air and Toney, alongside strike partner Bryan Mbuemo, earned post-match praise from opposing manager Klopp himself.
The German told Sky Sports after the game: "They [Brentford] deserved their three goals for the way they played. We obviously couldn’t deal with the long balls today but we should have scored more goals.
"They deserved it. I don’t think you can control them much better, we created a lot of clear-cut chances but couldn’t deal with them defensively. These things happen.
"We should have scored more. If we win 3-2 or 4-3 we still have these struggles defensively. Toney and Mbuemo did really well. Brentford deserved a point."
It wasn't a day for Toney to get on the scoresheet against the Reds, but he did manage to give their defence - which included Virgil van Dijk - a real test. And back in July, Toney admitted he'll be aiming to score in the reverse fixture between the two teams later this season, in an interview with the Athletic.
On Van Dijk, Toney said at the time: "I think he will be thinking about how he’s going to get the better of me, more than me getting the better of him!
"He’s human. Let’s just hope I have a worldie that day and he lets me get free. It will be a good challenge. A lot different from what I’m used to and I can’t wait. Scoring in front of the Kop is the dream this season."
Source: 90min
