Liverpool lost a fourth consecutive Premier League match on Saturday as they turned in a spineless performance away at Brentford.
The Reds had stopped the rot in midweek, comfortably beating Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.
However, they were back to their pathetic selves at the weekend, deservedly beaten by a Brentford side who fully deserved their win.
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It was a sorry, sorry showing from a team who look like the worst in the Premier League at the moment. Arne Slot should be finding himself on thin ice after yet another mess of a performance. Here are three things spotted from a display which should concern every Liverpool supporter.
Arne Slot motions to his players during Liverpool's Premier League match against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Liverpool full-backs are a huge concern
What on earth is going on with Liverpool’s full-backs this season? The Reds have changed at both left and right-back this season and have made themselves worse by doing so.
It was always going to take some adjustment after so long of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. But Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley have not looked anything like the answer for Liverpool so far.
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Kerkez may have scored, but he was arguably Liverpool’s worst player during an awful first-half at Brentford. The Hungarian continues to look shaky on the ball and clueless off it: it is a terrible mix.
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On the other side, Bradley was culpable for Brentford’s opening goal. The right-back gave away a cheap throw-in by mis-controlling Giorgi Mamardashvili’s pass. It was exactly what Liverpool did not need early into the game. As the ball came in, Kerkez then allowed Dango Ouattara to get across him and score. Shambolic.
The two players did combine for Kerkez’s goal, to showcase that they can at least make a difference for the Reds in an attacking sense. But defensively, it looks so far away from where it needs to be right now.
Curtis Jones cements his place in the XI
There has been precious little for Liverpool fans to enjoy during recent weeks, and that continued on Saturday night.
One bright spot amid the darkness has been Curtis Jones, who was excellent in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Jones kept his place for the Premier League encounter, and once again showed why he can be the answer for Liverpool in the middle of the pitch.
Curtis Jones on the ball during Liverpool's Premier League game against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Where others around him looked shaky and completely devoid of confidence, the Scouser was the only one really asking for the ball.
His partnership with Dominik Szoboszlai is perhaps the only good thing about Liverpool at the moment. Inevitably, such is the Reds’ luck right now, Jones was removed midway through the second-half with an injury.
Giorgi Mamardashvili is still a work in progress
Mamardashvili has been thrust into the limelight following another injury to Alisson Becker early into the season.
There have been some positive shoots from the Georgian, but some wobbly signs have started to appear as well.
Saturday was arguably his worst game in a Liverpool shirt so far, as he failed to properly deal with Brentford’s long-throw tactics.
Slow to get out to Kevin Schade for the second goal and disappointingly easy to beat from the penalty spot, Mamardashvili’s display will leave fans pining for Alisson’s return.
Can it get any worse, Reds?