Liverpool suffered a fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League as Brentford defeated them and deservedly won 3-2.
Dango Ouattara and Kevin Shade scored goals in the first half and Milos Kerkes controversially pulled one back for the visitors in stoppage time, but despite Mohamed Salah’s late volley, Igor Thiago’s second-half penalty was enough for Brentford.
Liverpool lost four consecutive league games in February 2021, and once again lacked control and were weak defensively, having not kept a clean sheet since their £446m-spending game against Burnley on September 14 in the summer.
They sit sixth in the Premier League, along with Sunderland and Manchester United, and are four points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Crystal Palace on Sunday, as reported by Sky Sports.
Why Liverpool lost again
Dango Ouattara celebrates the opening goal
Liverpool took the lead after just five minutes when Michael Keyode’s long throw was deflected by Christopher Ajer at the near post and Ouattara made a fine adjustment at the back to turn it home.
Florian Wirtz missed Liverpool’s best chance early on, missing his half-volley inches wide from inside the box, but continued his wait for his first goal for the club.
But Brentford were the better side throughout. Jordan Henderson and Ouattara, playing against his former club, fired wide, before Mikel Damsgaard’s long-range shot was parried away by Giorgi Marmardashvili.
Liverpool were in transition seconds after Kodi Gakpo went down and called for a penalty, but their pressure paid off before the break. Hugo Ekitike won the ball in midfield and Damsgoer immediately played a great pass in behind to Schade who slotted it past Ibrahim Konate and into the goal.
Kevin Shade follows on from Ibrahima Konate to score Brentford’s second goal.
However, Brentford supporters and Keith Andrews were furious when Milos Kerkes pulled one back for Liverpool at half-time, five minutes into the extra three minutes.
At the break, referee Simon Hooper was replaced by fourth official Tim Robinson, who pointed to the penalty spot after a VAR review of Virgil van Dijk’s foul on Ouattara. Thiago stepped up and rolled the spot-kick into the middle.
Manager Arne Slott responded with changes, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson and Federico Chiesa, but it was still the hosts who took the better lead, with Ouattara free to send his header wide of the target.
However, in the closing stages for Liverpool, Mo Salah controlled inside the area and instinctively volleyed a shot that hit the underside of the crossbar, but Brentford held on.
Slot: I didn’t think I’d lose 4 in a row
Liverpool head coach Arne Slott:
“I’ve said it many times before, the team has a certain style of play against us and it’s a very good strategy, but we haven’t found the answer yet and losing 1-0 every time doesn’t help much after five minutes.
“So it’s a little bit that the team knows the strategy to play against us. Even today when we didn’t play well, we were able to create more chances and score two goals than just the two goals we scored in open play.”
“The reason we can’t compete there is simply because we concede too many goals, and I’m not just looking at defense because that’s what we do with 11 players.
“And it definitely has something to do with the fact that we’ve had quite a few changes over the summer. I don’t think it’s surprising that we would be in a situation like this in that case, but we didn’t expect to lose four in a row.”
Andrews reveals the key to victory…
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews:
“This is the second game in a row that we suffered a disappointment just before half-time, but the message was to not take a step back and take a step forward in the second half.
“Once the game starts, we take the game to them. I thought that was the key for me in terms of how we approached the first 10 to 15 minutes of the second half because I think that gives them confidence. Once we step back, they sense that and really take advantage of it. And we didn’t allow that.”
“It’s a big result for a football club to beat the Premier League champions, but it’s a particularly big result given the nature of our next chapter as a football club, and it’s certainly a big result for me.”
Henderson, verdict against Liverpool…
Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson on TNT Sports:
“From start to finish, we stayed together. Liverpool are a world-class team, a world-class team, so we’ll have to do a little bit defensively.
“We defended together and stayed calm on the ball instead of kicking the ball forward. Damsgaard was a threat all night, as was Kev (Schade) and Thiago. He’s been like that all season. Overall, it was a really good performance and we deserved the win in the end.”
“When I look around the pitch, we have quality players. I can’t find any concrete weaknesses. I know it hasn’t been good for them lately, but for me they are still top players and a top team. It’s important to get into a rhythm and move forward. There are many reasons why they haven’t reached the heights of last season, but they are still a world-class team and there are top players everywhere you look.”
