Brentford 3-2 Liverpool: Arne Slott must look close to home to solve Liverpool’s decline

Since the start of May, Liverpool have conceded more goals in Premier League matches than any other team with nine, while they have conceded 14 goals in nine league matches this season. In the previous season they did not concede their fourteenth goal until the sixteenth match.

Liverpool’s midfield was non-existent, while hopes that £116m Florian Wirtz had sparked life with an improved performance in the 5-1 Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt were dashed here.

The German missed a great chance in the first half and was then replaced by defender Joe Gomez seven minutes before the end of the game with Brentford leading 3-1.

That was Slott’s judgment on the extent and impact of his summer signing. The verdict from Brentford supporters was predictable as he left to chants of “what a waste of money”.

Mohamed Salah showed one flash of the old brilliance to give Liverpool hope they did not deserve in a frenetic finish, but it was otherwise another poor performance from one of the club’s all-time greats, struggling for confidence and inspiration.

It was also a night of little reward for striker Hugo Ekitiki, the only summer arrival to flourish, as he had no service worthy of the name in the absence of injured £125m buy-in Alexander Isak and midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.

Slott couldn’t hide from the evidence before his eyes as he told BBC Match of the Day: “It was a disappointing result and a disappointing performance as well.

“Conceding three goals is too much if you want to win a football match. The first was from a set-piece, the second was a counter-attack which is one of the things Brentford are really good at.

“What I have to do is look at what we are doing wrong and what we are doing right. I have a clear idea of ​​where we have to improve, but that was not the case in the other matches. We did not get the basics right.”

The hatchet will have to find the answers, and fast.

Liverpool’s next four matches will be against Crystal Palace at Anfield in the round of 16 of the Carabao Cup, before another home league match against Aston Villa. Real Madrid then come to Anfield in the Champions League, before visiting Manchester City – where you can be sure Erling Haaland will be licking his lips if he comes up against a weak defense like this.

Liverpool have a squad of quality, but no form, with Wirtz still trying to adapt and offering encouragement to any challengers with ambition. The nearly £450 million spent in the summer has yet to offer anything in the way of improvement or progress.

At the moment, given their struggles, Liverpool’s much-discussed stumble appears to have been sealed by this win over Eintracht Frankfurt – something inconceivable when you remember their smooth progression last season and their 10-point finish at the top.

For Sloat and Liverpool, this has been a painful experience and more disappointment could follow if Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on Sunday to extend their gap to seven points.