Brentford inflicted another painful defeat on Premier League champions Liverpool with a 3-2 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Despite a midweek win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, Liverpool's defensive frailties were exposed again, starting with Michael Kayode's long throw that led to Dango Ouatarra opening the scoring in the fifth minute. Kevin Schade doubled Brentford's lead just before half-time with a clinical finish from Mikkel Damsgaard's through-ball, leaving Liverpool chasing the game.

Although Milos Kerkez briefly gave Liverpool hope when he pulled one back, Brentford regained control after the break. A VAR-awarded penalty for a foul by Virgil van Dijk allowed Igor Thiago to restore the two-goal cushion, and despite a late strike from Mohamed Salah, Liverpool suffered their fourth consecutive league defeat.

The result leaves Liverpool sixth in the table, four points behind leaders Arsenal, while Brentford sit 10th after securing their fourth win of the season.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admitted the loss was one of the most disappointing ones he'd suffered at the club.

"Teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play, and we haven't found an answer yet, and that every time going 1-0 down doesn't really help as well," he said.

"We simply concede too many goals."

It was also a bad day for the Blues, as Sunderland stunned Chelsea with a dramatic 2-1 victory at home, thanks to a stoppage-time strike from substitute Chemsdine Talbi.

Chelsea had taken an early lead in the fourth minute through Alejandro Garnacho, who netted his first goal for the club. However, Sunderland responded in the 22nd minute when Wilson Isidor capitalised on a long throw to stab home an equaliser, keeping the match finely balanced.

As the game looked set to finish in a draw, Talbi came off the bench and latched onto a pass from fellow substitute Brian Bobbey in the third minute of added time, curling a low shot past Robert Sanchez to seal a dramatic win for the hosts.

"I think in general we were not good enough," said Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca. "When you are not good enough in the Premier League we know that the consequences can be bad. I have said many times, when you are not able to win, it is important you do not lose."

In contrast, Manchester United's recent resurgence continued as they defeated Brighton 4-2 at Old Trafford - their third straight win and a result that lifted the Red Devils into the top four.

Matheus Cunha opened the scoring with his first goal for the club, followed by Casemiro's deflected strike, before Bryan Mbeumo extended the lead to 3-0 in the 61st minute. United looked set for a comfortable victory, but Brighton fought back late, with Danny Welbeck scoring a stunning free-kick and Charalampos Kostoulas adding a stoppage-time header to make it 3-2.

Despite Brighton's late surge, Mbeumo had the final say in the sixth minute of stoppage time, rifling a decisive strike into the roof of the net to seal the victory.

"It is a good feeling," said Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim. "To listen to the crowd, the joy, it is important. We need to enjoy that today but then prepare for the next one.

"It is hard [at 3-2], but we had some moments in the past when the spirit was a little bit different, and we suffered more, but today we scored the last goal because I felt we could deal with bad moments in a better way than we showed last year. And when you have a better spirit, you have a bit of luck."

Premier League results, Friday and Saturday

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

Chelsea 1-2 Sunderland

Newcastle 2-1 Fulham

Manchester Utd 4-2 Brighton

Brentford 3-2 Liverpool

Liverpool prepare for FA Cup clash with slew of absentees