Cody Gakpo wanted a penalty against Brentford(Image: Getty Images)

Joe Cole and Steve McManaman sided with referee Simon Hooper over his decision not to award Liverpool a first half penalty. The Reds were left fuming after Cody Gakpo went to ground in the box, but Hooper waved away their appeals.

Liverpool soon found themselves 2-0 down in west London, with Kevin Schade netting Brentford's second. Milos Kerkez pulled one back for the visitors in added time.

Following the decision, which was checked by VAR, the official Premier League Match Centre account on X (formerly Twitter) stated: "#BRELIV – 44' The referee's call of no penalty to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that there was no foul by Collins on Gakpo."

Speaking about the penalty decision at half-time, TNT Sports pundits Cole and McManaman both believe the right decision was made on the field.

"No, he goes down too easy," Cole said. "He doesn't quite get there, he goes down too easy.