Alexander Isak scored on his return from injury as Liverpool fought back from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 victory over Brentford, who had Yehor Yarmoliuk and Vitaly Janelt sent off.
Isak, back in the side following a thigh problem, finished clinically from Bradley Barcola's knockdown in the second half as Andoni Iraola's side bounced back from their loss to Manchester City.
Liverpool had appeared in trouble when Keane Lewis-Potter's header put Brentford in front moments after the visitors had a penalty overturned, but Yarmoliuk's moment of madness in first-half stoppage time changed the game.
With only seconds remaining until the break, Yarmoliuk headbutted Jeremy Jacquet before a Liverpool corner, with referee John Brooks brandishing a straight red card for violent conduct after being sent to the pitch-side monitor by the VAR.
Liverpool made their man advantage count after the break as Victor Munoz latched onto a Florian Wirtz through ball to score a superbly-taken equaliser, before Isak completed the turnaround.
Brentford had a golden chance to equalise when Igor Thiago failed to convert from close range and they finished the game with nine men as Janelt was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time for a foul on Liverpool substitute Rio Ngumoha.
The victory allows Liverpool to climb above Brentford into fifth in the Premier League table but it was not without problems.
Dominik Szoboszlai had to come off with another injury in the first half on his return to the side, while half-time substitute Jeremie Frimpong only lasted seven minutes before being forced off.
Iraola is now preparing to be without the duo for "some time". He confirmed Szoboszlai's injury was a recurrence of his hamstring problem and said Frimpong's issue was a new injury.
Iraola moved Munoz to right-back after Frimpong's withdrawal but it did not stop the summer signing from charging forward to score the equaliser as Liverpool punished Yarmoliuk's ill-discipline to inflict Brentford's first defeat of the campaign.
Isak seems to have it in for Brentford. His goal made it five in five games against them. Only Manchester City's Erling Haaland has a better 100 per cent hit rate against a Premier League side, with his total of six against Crystal Palace.
Only Haaland has scored more goals than Isak this season, too. The 27-year-old is up to five in the Premier League this season, despite having missed the Manchester City fixture due to injury.
He only needs one more to double his tally from last season, when injury issues and poor performances prompted questions over his £125m signing from Newcastle. Now he finally looks like the player Liverpool thought they were getting.
Isak was on the edges of the game during the first half. His goal came from one of only two shots before his 79th-minute substitution for Lewis Koumas. But the manner in which it was taken highlighted the ruthlessness that makes him so deadly at his best.
He only had a split second, under pressure from Barcola's knockdown, to get his shot off. But his touch and snapshot were executed at dizzying speed, leaving CaoimhÃn Kelleher with little chance.
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola: "Definitely we got a good battle today. They are very important three points for us because I think it's very [difficult] to win here.
"I think Brentford are a very good team, especially at home, and to finish with three points here is very valuable.
"I think we played really well the minute until we scored 2-1 against 10 players.
"We were being patient, we were finding good positions and we were controlling the game really well.
"I'm probably more disappointed after we score because you score for 2-1 and then you feel like you have something to lose.
"We were playing freely, we were finding good spots, we were sending a lot of players forward, and then you score 2-1.
"A lot of the players see the chance to score, but we missed clear counters to finish the game."
Brentford boss Keith Andrews: "There's a lot that went on in the game. I think we were edging it; we were getting into a good rhythm, we were starting to play with a little bit more belief, speed, thought and action and we got ourselves in front.
"I felt pretty confident. The bench was strong, we were going to be able to make changes as some of the lads haven't been playing regularly recently.
"But the sending off changes the dynamics of the game and it's more of a challenge. We gave them a real advantage."
