Liverpool's Premier League title defence remains bleak

LONDON, SUNDAY - The positive result from defeating Eintracht Frankfurt has not yet become a momentum for Liverpool's resurgence in the domestic arena. "The Reds" fell again after losing 2-3 to Brentford in the continuation of the English Premier League at the Gtech Community Stadium, London, on Sunday (26/10/2025) early morning WIB. The pessimistic tone from manager Arne Slot reinforces the impression that Liverpool's efforts to defend their title will become increasingly bleak.

This marks Liverpool's fourth consecutive defeat in the English Premier League. The last time Liverpool experienced four consecutive losses in the first nine matches of the Premier League era was in the 1993-1994 season. At that time, Liverpool finished the season in eighth place.

The loss of points over four consecutive matches has resulted in "The Reds" falling to sixth place in the temporary standings with a total of 15 points. Liverpool is four points behind Arsenal at the top.

Liverpool's point deficit could widen to seven points if Arsenal manages to defeat Crystal Palace in another match. Considering Arsenal's current consistent performance, the remaining 29 matches until the end of the season do little to alleviate the panic. Liverpool must at least maintain the closest possible distance to catch up until the end of the season. In such a situation, every point will be extremely significant.

Slot is not one to sit idly by while his team remains in a negative trend. He admitted to having tried various methods to improve his team's performance. However, opponents always seem to find a formula to dampen Slot's efforts. The Dutch manager did not hesitate to state that the match against Brentford was one of Liverpool's worst performances during his tenure.

"The opposing teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy, and we have not yet found the solution. Falling behind 1-0 after five minutes is never helpful," said Slot.

Brentford took the lead through a tap-in from Dango Ouattara, who capitalized on a throw-in situation. Anticipating set-piece situations has been an unresolved issue for Liverpool this season. Furthermore, the majority of Liverpool's players are still performing below their best.

The initial incident of Liverpool conceding from a throw-in began with a clearance from goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili that inadvertently directed the ball towards the edge of the field. The ball was attempted to be secured by right-back Conor Bradley, but his control was very poor, resulting in a throw-in for Brentford. Left-back Milos Kerkez has also not performed well since his arrival at the beginning of this season. He was outpaced in responding to Ouattara, who swiftly intercepted the ball.

They won more duels than we did. They won more second balls than we did. If you come here and you know you will concede a goal, one of them might be from a set piece.

Brentford's approach in this match was to play directly. The Brentford players tried to get the ball forward as quickly as possible to threaten the Liverpool defense. Meanwhile, manager Keith Andrews instructed his players to monitor every Liverpool player's movement. This limited space in midfield.

To counter this, Slot responded by ordering Liverpool's two full-backs, Bradley and Kerkez, to move up to support the attack and exploit the flanks. However, this move backfired. By playing so direct, Liverpool's defense was completely exposed, with only Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk remaining at the back. Kevin Schade exploited this situation to score a quick counter-attack at the end of the first half.

"They won more duels than we did. They won more second balls than we did. If you come here and you know you will concede goals, one of them might be from set pieces. Counterattacks are also one of their greatest strengths, and that is why we conceded two goals," said Slot.

Controversy arose when Brentford was awarded a penalty after Van Dijk fouled Ouattara just above the line. The foul initially resulted in a free kick. However, after reviewing the video assistant referee (VAR) footage, the referee changed his decision to a penalty. Igor Thiago successfully carried out his duty by scoring Brentford's third goal.

Liverpool only managed to reply through strikes from Kerkez and Mohamed Salah. However, it was too late to prevent Brentford's victory.

"The players played with great courage, personality, and resilience. They did everything you need to achieve a result like this and to stop them (Liverpool) from playing the game they want to play," said Andrews. (REUTERS)