Brentford head coach Thomas Frank assessed his side’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, which he described as a “game of two halves”.

The Bees boss was pleased with the first-half performance on Merseyside, where the west Londoners had chances to equalise, but believes the game became more stretched in the second period, when Mohamed Salah doubled the Reds’ lead, after Luis Díaz's opener.

“It was a game of two halves. First half, I thought we were very good and it was very even - it was a good match actually,” said Frank.

“We pressed well, we defended well and we limited Liverpool; they basically had nothing besides their goal, which came from our corner. We were this close to the first contact and then lost the 50/50 on the edge of the box - we have to deal with those situations better.

“Second half, we were still in it - we had the Nathan Collins chance from the corner, which shows we are a constant threat - but then they score and then it’s very difficult.

“We lost fair and square, but the first half was our best half of football here at Anfield.”

Frank added: “We need to take the chances when they come - the second half of the first half was a good spell and I was pleased with how we played then.

“And I don’t think it’s changed since Arne Slot came in: Liverpool are one of the most difficult teams to play against.

“They attack from all angles - I felt like we dealt with that well in the first half; second half, it became a little bit open, but we made some decisive blocks and good defensive actions.”