Brentford Overpowers Liverpool for Fourth Straight Premier League Loss
Liverpool endured a fourth successive Premier League loss after Brentford dominated the title holders in a 3-2 triumph on Saturday.
The Bees earned their win through strikes by Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade, and Igor Thiago, propelling them up to 10th position in the standings.
The Reds dropped to sixth place and might end up seven points behind top side Arsenal by the end of Sunday, with their championship campaign crumbling dramatically over the recent month.
Liverpool have now dropped points in five out of their previous six matches across all tournaments, leaving manager Arne Slot seemingly without solutions to build a unified squad despite a record breaking close to 450 million pounds (600 million dollars) invested in transfers during the summer window.
Slot lost control over one of his key choices when Alexander Isak sat out with a groin problem, though Mohamed Salah came back into the lineup from the team that crushed Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek Champions League action, halting a run of four defeats.
Brentford have mastered the art of the lengthy throw in, a strategy gaining traction throughout the Premier League this term.
The visitors found it hard to cope with the trajectory of Michael Kayodes long throws throughout the evening, which led directly to the first goal.
Kristoffer Ajer headed on the Italians precise throw, allowing Ouattara to finish with a volley.
The champions displayed occasional sparks of potential, and Florian Wirtz missed a chance for his debut goal for the club by shooting wide from close range despite his 100 million pound price tag.
Liverpools Downfall
Even with less control of the ball, Brentford kept presenting more danger in attack.
Giorgi Mamardashvili pushed away Mikkel Damsgaards curling effort over the crossbar.
Damsgaard then assisted the second goal with an excellent pass that left Schade outpacing Ibrahima Konate before slotting the ball low beyond Mamardashvili.
The team has now let in two or more goals in six of their opening nine league fixtures this season.
Milos Kerkezs difficulties following his 40 million pound switch from Bournemouth have contributed heavily to Liverpools unraveling.
The player from Hungary compensated for yet another unsteady performance by converting Conor Bradleys delivery in the fifth minute of added time during the first half.
The hosts reacted with anger since the official had indicated just three minutes of extra time.
Yet Brentford gained an advantage when video assistant referee review led to a spot kick after Virgil van Dijk clipped Ouattara just inside the penalty area around the 60th minute.
A free kick was initially awarded, but footage confirmed the contact occurred within the box.
Thiago deceived Mamardashvili from the spot, and the champions had no route to recovery following yet another fragmented and low energy outing.
Salah was blocked by Sepp van den Bergs commitment to dive in front of his effort when an immediate reply seemed possible.
The forward from Egypt finally broke his club level scoring dry spell of six matches with a stunning finish, trapping Dominik Szoboszlais cross and blasting it against the bars underside in the 89th minute.
However it proved insufficient and untimely to halt the sharp downturn for Liverpool, triggered by the turmoil of a major squad rebuild in the off season and the sorrow from Diogo Jotas sudden passing in a vehicle collision back in July.