This Liverpool of Arne Slot is currently catastrophic. After Crystal Palace (2-1), Chelsea (2-1) and Manchester United (1-2), the Reds were beaten by Brentford (3-2), Saturday evening in the Bees' den, for the 9th day of the Premier League. A fourth defeat in a row which takes the Reds a little further away from the lead. Here they are 6th, four points behind Arsenal, a leader who plays on Sunday. And even United overtook them!
In this sporting crisis, the two big names Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah seem much closer to the end of their careers than to their prime. It's obvious at their age (34 for the Batavian, 33 for the Pharaon), but they have really been weighing down their team for a while. The Liverpool rock still suffered in numerous adverse situations, while the Egyptian left-hander missed everything before scoring a nice goal at the end of the match.
Brentford were merciless for LFC, first opening the score thanks to an acrobatic recovery from Dango Ouattara from a corner (5th). Hugo Ekitiké had very little impact on the West London defense. On a loss of ball from the French international, Mikkel Damsgaard launched Kevin Schade for 2-0, Ibrahima Konaté being too short (45th). Ekitiké then missed his recovery but Milos Kerkez sprang at the far post to reduce the gap (45th + 5).
Mamardashvili saves Liverpool from shipwreck
Van Dijk put Liverpool in even more difficulty by swinging Ouattara on the edge of the area (but in the area after viewing the images). Igor Thiago scored his 6th goal from the penalty spot on the hour mark (60th) and Giorgi Mamardashvili then made several saves to avoid the wreck. Mohamed Salah therefore shook the nets with a beautiful sequence (89th), after five matches without scoring. But that doesn't really mask his horrible performance.
Liverpool failed to save a point against their former captain Jordan Henderson and his ex-goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. Victory is imperative in a week against Aston Villa. Nothing says that Arne Slot will survive the North English autumn in the event of further poor performances. Even six months after an English championship title. Brentford moved up to 10th position, with only two points less than Liverpool.
