Arne Slot thinks Liverpool’s loss at Brentford was the worst performance of his era and that he is struggling for the answers on how to cope against direct teams.
It came at a complete contrast to Keith Andrews who hailed the best night of his short managerial career after goals from Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago helped Brentford on the way to a famous win despite Milos Kerkez and Mohamed Salah’s strikes.
The Premier League champions have now lost four straight league games, the most bruising month of Slot’s managerial career – and the Dutchman says the display was far from the level the Reds set in winning the title last year.
Asked if it was the worst performance of his tenure, Slot said: ‘Yeah. I think it is up there, yeah. In my time here. In terms of losing a game. Normally when we are 1-0 or 2-0 down, by the way after we went 1-0 down that was the only moment I really liked.
‘After 30 minutes they took the game again with long throws and set-pieces and other moments where they were really good. They did many things well.
‘It is disappointing again. We hoped if we won a game during the week, of course you hope for a better result. I was also hoping and expecting a better performance. This was far from what we are used to. Even if we are losing, our performances have been better than tonight.
Arne Slot dubbed Liverpool’s performance against Brentford the worst of his time at the club
The Premier League champions have now lost their last four league ties as they slipped to a 3-2 loss in London
‘We did not do the basics right. If you are 1-0, 2-0 or 3-1 down, the energy in the stadium was helpful for them. They are a good team in winning duels and second balls, you must give them credit.’
It was the second weekend in a row where Liverpool have been targeted by long balls and Slot added: ‘Teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play against us. And we have not found an answer yet. Going 1-0 down after five minutes does not help. Teams know which strategy to play against us.’
Andrews, meanwhile, was elated at full-time and said: ‘Fearlessness was one of the words I used in the build-up to the game, it takes a lot more than that really – structure, desire, resilience, character, how you react to situations. If you have a setback, you step forward not step back.
‘We’ve just beaten the Premier League champions. It ranks pretty highly (in his achievements)! There was a lot made about their form coming into it but if you strip it back they are world-class players. It is a big result for the football club, especially a big result for the nature of our next chapter.’
