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Arne Slot admitted that Saturday’s defeat by Brentford was “up there” as perhaps the most disappointed he has been in his time as Liverpool manager, and acknowledged that opponents seem to have worked out how to play against them.
“Teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play,” said Slot, “and we haven’t found an answer yet, and that every time going 1-0 down doesn’t really help as well.”
After last week’s defeat by Manchester United, Slot seemed mildly outraged that Ruben Amorim’s side had been so direct. This Saturday, there was a marked change of tone but the problem was the same. “They’re a very good team in winning duels and second balls,” he said, “and you have to give them credit for that. It’s also difficult to win a game of football if the set-piece balance is in their favour.”
Brentford’s opening goal stemmed from a long throw from Michael Kayode, an increasingly familiar weapon. Long thows, Slot said, were “the only thing we did yesterday on the training pitch, preparing for that. And the meeting today. Brentford are also known for very good set pieces, but they are also, in my opinion, known for a fantastic counterattack.”
Their second came from a counter, soon after Cody Gakpo had tumbled in the box. Brentford’s third was a penalty initially given as a free-kick only for VAR to conclude the contact had occurred on the line.
“I think if you would show both situations,” Slot said, “the penalty we conceded, and that moment, and you show this to every referee in the world, he would tell you maybe both are nothing, but if he had to give one of the two, he definitely would give the one to Cody.”
The loss was Liverpool’s fourth in a row in the league; if Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on Sunday, they will lead the champions by seven points. “We don’t compete up there because we simply concede too many goals,” said Slot. “If you change quite a lot during the summer, then I think it’s not a surprise that it can go a bit like this, but I didn’t expect it to go with four losses in a row. It’s always a bit of a bumpy road. I don’t know if that has been seen as an excuse, but from the last six games we’ve played, it’s been five away.”
For Keith Andrews, the Brentford manager, the key was the way his side, having conceded in first-half injury time, didn’t let Liverpool dictate the first 10-15 minutes of the second half and play their way into confidence. “The message was we don’t take a step back,” he said.
“The team’s growing, clearly: the relationships of the players, the rapport of the players; there’s trust in the group. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I felt teams were coming here and having a comfortable game.”
