Liverpool coach Arne Slot said opponents have identified a winning strategy against his English Premier League champions, and he needs to find a solution fast after a 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday made it four league losses in a row.
Their title defence had begun well, but defeats at Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Brentford, as well as last week’s 2-1 home defeat by Manchester United, have knocked the Dutchman’s side off the rails.
Slot said the loss at Brrentford was arguably the worst performance in their slump as Liverpool were deservedly beaten by a side who ruthlessly exploited their fragility.
Photo: AFP
“I’ve said this many times already that teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play, and we haven’t found an answer yet,” Slot told reporters. “Also, going 1-0 down doesn’t really help as well after five minutes, but even today, when we don’t play well, we’re able to score two goals and create more chances from open play.”
Liverpool have conceded early goals in each of their four Premier League defeats and went behind at Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday before storming back to win 5-1.
The way they conceded the first goal to Brentford after five minutes was especially frustrating for Slot, who said they had spent Friday preparing for Brentford’s long throws.
However, they could not deal with Michael Kayode’s delivery, and when Kristoffer Ajer flicked the ball on Dango Ouattara reacted superbly to hook his volley past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Liverpool spent more than 400 million pounds (US$532.43 million) in the summer transfer window on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Alexander Isak, but have looked a shadow of the side that won the club’s record-equaling 20th league title in Slot’s first season.
They have lost four of their opening nine games, as many as they did in the whole of last season.
“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,” Slot said.
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, impressive once again for Brentford in midfield, said he expected his old club to pull out of their slump.
“I know there’s been results of late that haven’t been great for them, but, for me, they’re still top players and a top, top team, and it’s a matter of time before they get in a rhythm and get going,” he said.
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