Liverpool concluded the season with a draw against Brentford and secured the Champions League on Salah’s and Robertson’s farewell day
Liverpool played 1:1 against Brentford at Anfield on May 24, 2026, in the 38th round of the Premier League, in a match whose result confirmed the home team’s qualification for the Champions League and whose content turned into a farewell evening for Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson. Curtis Jones gave Liverpool the lead in the second half after Salah’s assist, while Kevin Schade soon equalized for Brentford and kept the closing stages open until the final seconds. According to Sky Sports’ report, the visitors could have claimed a victory in stoppage time that would have taken them into European competitions, but Dango Ouattara failed to convert a major chance. Liverpool finished the season in fifth place with 60 points, while Brentford finished ninth with 53 points, behind Brighton because of an inferior goal difference.
A result that gives Liverpool European security
For Liverpool, a point against Brentford was enough to finish among the top five Premier League clubs, which, according to the official standings and competition table, meant qualification for the Champions League for the following season. Arne Slot’s team entered the final round with the imperative of avoiding additional pressure, because the season had been far from stable and marked by fluctuations, injuries, and changes in the structure of the squad. According to the final table published by Sky Sports, Liverpool had 17 wins, nine draws, and 12 defeats after 38 rounds, with a goal difference of 63:53. Such a record was not enough to fight for the title, but in the closing stages of the season it preserved the most important competitive objective: a return to the strongest European club competition.
The match at Anfield did not have the rhythm of a game in which one team completely controlled events from beginning to end, although Liverpool had more of the ball for much of the first half and more situations in which they could have taken the lead. The Guardian stated in its report that the home side pressed Brentford early and created chances through Ibrahime Konaté, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, and Rio Ngumoha. Brentford, however, survived the period of home initiative and stayed in the match long enough to find a response after the break. It was precisely that ability of the visitors to withstand pressure and then punish Liverpool’s indecision that gave the finale additional tension.
Liverpool went ahead when Salah, in one of his last great actions in the club’s shirt, found Jones in the penalty area. Liverpool’s official announcement states that Jones’s goal opened the scoring, and that Schade’s goal brought Brentford the equalizer. The home team’s goal briefly looked like an ideal scenario for an emotional day at Anfield: Salah recorded an assist, the crowd had a reason to celebrate, and Liverpool were closer to a calm end to the season. But Brentford very quickly showed that they had not come merely to take part in the hosts’ farewell program.
Brentford missed out on a historic European step forward
Brentford arrived at Anfield with their own motivation, because in the resolution of the final round they still had a chance to reach European competitions. Sky Sports reported that a win in Liverpool would have taken Keith Andrews’s team into Europe for the first time in the club’s history, but the draw meant Brentford remained ninth. The final table shows that Brentford collected 53 points, the same as Brighton, but with a goal difference of +3 compared with Brighton’s +6. In such an outcome, one missed chance, one defensive reaction, or one detail in the closing stages took on far greater meaning than the ordinary outcome of a single match.
Kevin Schade’s equalizing goal was a reward for Brentford’s persistence after Liverpool’s lead. According to The Guardian’s report, the move began after a cross and rebounds in the penalty area, and Schade beat Alisson with a header. Brentford remained dangerous afterward, especially at moments when Liverpool had to deal with the emotional charge of saying farewell to their long-serving pillars of the team. In the closing stages, according to Sky Sports, Ouattara had the clearest chance for a complete turnaround, but his header deep into stoppage time finished over the goal. That moment remained a symbol of Brentford’s season: close enough for a major step forward, but still not enough for final entry into the European frame.
For Brentford, ninth place is still confirmation of stability in the most demanding English league, but the final impression inevitably also carries a dose of missed opportunity. The team finished the season ahead of Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, and other clubs with larger budgets and greater expectations, which gives weight to its result. Still, when European qualification is lost on goal difference and after a miss in the final moments of the final round, sporting regret remains understandable. Brentford showed at Anfield that they can compete with a team that finished the season in the Champions League zone, but they lacked one more precise final action for a historic step forward.
Salah’s assist and a new club record
The biggest individual moment of the match belonged to Mohamed Salah, who, with his assist for Jones’s goal, became Liverpool’s outright record holder for assists in the Premier League. Liverpool’s official announcement states that Salah reached 93 assists for goals in the Premier League in the club’s shirt with that assist, surpassing Steven Gerrard, who remained on 92. The club also stated that the Egyptian reached 94 Premier League assists in total, also counting one from his period at Chelsea, which placed him level with Dennis Bergkamp in sixth place on the competition’s all-time assists list. For a player whose contribution was most often measured in goals, such a figure further emphasizes the breadth of his influence on Liverpool’s attacking play.
Salah’s farewell appearance carried special weight because, according to Liverpool’s official announcement, it was his final appearance for the club after nine years. The Guardian reported that Salah was welcomed and sent off at Anfield with ovations, and after the match with symbolic tributes together with Robertson. For Liverpool, it was the end of a period in which Salah became one of the most important players in the club’s modern history, not only because of individual numbers but also because of his role in a team that won the biggest trophies. His final assist was therefore not merely a statistical addition, but also a fitting closing frame of a great episode.
The sporting context of Salah’s departure is even more complex because Liverpool are entering a summer in which they will have to redefine their attacking structure. Arne Slot obtained the Champions League as an important argument for rebuilding the squad, but the departure of a player who had for years been a constant in the finishing phases of moves changes the way the attack is built. According to The Guardian’s report, Slot emphasized after the match that qualification for the Champions League cannot be taken for granted, especially in a season in which other big clubs were also missing out on European objectives. That statement describes Liverpool’s situation well: the result is satisfactory at the minimum level of ambition, but the changes that follow will be profound.
Robertson’s farewell further marked the end of a generation
Alongside Salah, Andy Robertson also said farewell to Anfield, the left-back who had been one of the most recognizable players in Liverpool’s team since 2017. Liverpool’s official announcement states that Robertson and Salah received a guard of honour from teammates and members of staff after the match, as well as mementos presented to them by Sir Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Richard Hughes, and Billy Hogan. The club highlighted that both had spent nine years at Liverpool and that they said goodbye to the fans after the draw with Brentford. In that way, the final match of the season acquired strong symbolism: it was not only about qualification for the Champions League, but also about closing a chapter that marked Liverpool’s most successful years of the modern era.
Robertson’s departure has a different, but equally important footballing dimension from Salah’s. For years, the Scot gave Liverpool depth on the left side, high intensity without the ball, and a constant option in building attacks. His cooperation with wide players and central midfielders was one of the foundations of Liverpool’s recognizable rhythm during the period of major successes. Although toward the end of his episode there was increasing talk about the need to refresh the squad, the farewell at Anfield showed how important his contribution remained in the club’s collective memory.
The Guardian described in its report how tributes for Salah and Robertson had been prepared in the stands, while official Liverpool stated that both players absorbed the reactions of the supporters after the match, with whom they had built a strong bond through years full of trophies and great moments. Such choreography emphasized that the end of the season was both a sporting and emotional event. For Liverpool supporters, the draw against Brentford was not an ideal result, but the evening had a meaning that went beyond a mere look at the scoreboard. When, on the same day, a club confirms the Champions League and says farewell to two long-serving icons, the result remains important, but not the only frame of the story.
Slot faces a squad rebuild after a turbulent season
Arne Slot ended the season with the minimum objective fulfilled, but the way Liverpool reached fifth place leaves many open questions. According to the final table data, Liverpool finished 25 points behind champions Arsenal, while second-placed Manchester City had 18 points more. Such a gap shows that qualification for the Champions League must not hide the fact that Liverpool need to find greater stability if they want to re-enter the title race. The draw with Brentford was a good image of the whole season: enough quality to control parts of the match, but not enough calmness and continuity to turn an advantage into a secure victory.
According to NBC Sports, Liverpool finished the season without a win in their last four league matches, which further explains why the final placing was greeted more with relief than with euphoria. The club will now have to answer several key questions: who takes over the creative and goalscoring burden after Salah’s departure, how Robertson’s role on the left side is replaced, and whether Slot can get the profile of player needed for a faster, more balanced, and more efficient Liverpool in the summer transfer window. The Champions League brings financial and sporting appeal, but also greater demands in a calendar in which mistakes are harder to hide.
In that sense, the match against Brentford can be read as a transition point. Liverpool secured entry into the European elite and thereby avoided a far more difficult summer, but did not offer the impression of a team that has already found its final shape for the new season. Brentford, on the other hand, showed that their season was not a coincidence and that they can compete equally with clubs from the upper part of the table. Both teams left Anfield with a mixture of satisfaction and regret: Liverpool because of the confirmed Champions League, but also awareness of the end of an era, Brentford because of a big result on a difficult away trip, but also a lost historic opportunity.
The wider resolution of the final Premier League round
The final round of the Premier League brought final confirmation of European places and the standings near the top. According to Sky Sports’ final table, Arsenal finished the season as champions with 85 points, ahead of Manchester City with 78, Manchester United with 71, Aston Villa with 65, and Liverpool with 60 points. Bournemouth finished sixth with 57 points, Sunderland seventh with 54, Brighton eighth with 53, and Brentford ninth also with 53. Such an order further underlines how close Brentford were to a European place, but also how Liverpool’s point against Brentford was enough to avoid the danger of dropping below the Champions League line.
In the relegation zone, according to the same standings, West Ham United, Burnley, and Wolverhampton Wanderers finished the season. That fact shows how unusual the league season was and how much the balance of power changed in relation to the earlier expectations of individual clubs. Liverpool remained near the top, but not in the title race; Brentford remained outside Europe, but ahead of a number of financially stronger rivals; Arsenal confirmed the title as the most consistent team of the season. In that context, the draw at Anfield was one of the key matches of the final day because it simultaneously affected the Champions League, Brentford’s European ambitions, and the emotional end of Liverpool’s generation.
For Liverpool, a period of decisions now follows that will determine how this season will be interpreted. If qualification for the Champions League is used for a quality reconstruction, the draw with Brentford will be remembered as a painful but functional transition into a new phase. If, however, suitable replacements are not found for the departures of Salah and Robertson, the match could be remembered as a clear announcement of a more difficult period. Brentford, meanwhile, will carry the finale at Anfield as proof of their own competitiveness and as a reminder that the difference between ninth place and European history is sometimes reduced to one late header.
Sources:
- Liverpool FC – official announcement on the summary of the Liverpool - Brentford 1:1 match and confirmation of Liverpool’s qualification for the Champions League (link)
- Liverpool FC – official announcement on the farewell of Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah at Anfield (link)
- Liverpool FC – official announcement on Salah’s record for the number of assists for Liverpool in the Premier League (link)
- Sky Sports – report from the Liverpool - Brentford 1:1 match, scorers, and context of Brentford’s unsuccessful attempt to enter Europe (link)
- Sky Sports – final Premier League 2025/26 table with standings, points, and European places (link)
- The Guardian – report from Anfield on the course of the match, farewells, and reactions after the encounter (link)
- NBC Sports – analysis of the end of Liverpool’s season, the winless run, and the final standings of Liverpool and Brentford (link)