Liverpool suffered a 3-2 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, with Andy Robertson admitting the Reds had failed to follow their gameplan
14:37, 26 Oct 2025
Andy Robertson speaks to LFC TV after Liverpool lose 3-2 away at Brentford
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Andy Robertson slammed Liverpool's performance in their defeat to Brentford(Image: LFC TV)
Andy Robertson admitted that Liverpool didn't stick to their gameplan in a brutally frank analysis of the Reds' 3-2 loss to Brentford.
Arne Slot's team were brought back down to earth with a bump after their midweek victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, suffering their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat. Brentford's Dango Outarra netted the first goal just five minutes into the game, followed by Kevin Schade doubling the lead with a run onto Mikkel Damsgaard's through-ball.
Milos Kerkez managed to claw one back for Liverpool right before half-time, scoring his first goal for the club. However, the Hungarian's shaky start at Liverpool continued as he was replaced by Robertson just past the hour mark.
By then, Liverpool had slipped further behind due to an Igor Thiago penalty. Despite Mohamed Salah reducing the deficit towards the end, Liverpool couldn't overturn the scoreline, marking their fifth loss in their last six matches across all competitions.
Post-match, Robertson conceded that the Reds were 'nowhere near good enough' against Brentford, extending their Premier League losing streak. Despite being fully aware of the threat posed by Keith Andrews' side, the Scottish player admitted that Liverpool had ultimately failed to execute their game plan.
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Brentford and Liverpool at Gtech Community Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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Liverpool suffered a fourth straight league defeat(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA, Getty Images)
"We didn't do enough off the ball. On the ball, first half I thought we created a couple of moments, kept the ball quite nice," he admitted. "But you can't come to Brentford away and just expect to play them off the park because they are always going to be ready to fight.
"They're always going to be ready to put bodies in the box when it comes to set-pieces, put the balls in behind, pick up second balls. You know what you're going to come to, here. They're always the same and they're so good at it. It felt to me like we were just a yard off it in terms of that. They picked up so many second balls, and then the balls in behind.
"Our backline are running back to try and head the ball, which is so difficult as it is. We know how difficult... how good a set-piece team they are. We've worked on the long-throw and everything, and five minutes in you concede three long throw-ins. One of them you concede from.
"It's not good enough, you play into their hands and have got an uphill battle from there. Kept fighting but nowhere near good enough. You have to fight for the control. No team in the Premier League, nobody's going to go, 'On you go, you take the ball, we'll try and defend.' Nobody does that.
"They always have a gameplan, against us and every team. All the managers in the Premier League are so talented, especially the teams that have got a full week to prepare. They would have had a clear gameplan and I think they played theirs perfectly.
Andy Robertson gave a brutally honest interview after Liverpool's defeat to Brentford
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Andy Robertson gave a brutally honest interview after Liverpool's defeat to Brentford(Image: Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)
"We didn't play ours at all. That makes it so difficult. If you just think you're going to show up and all of a sudden they're going to drop off, we're going to have control and we'll just wait until we score. It never, ever happens.
"This is my ninth season, I think maybe it's only happened once or twice. If we expect that, then we're in big bother. You have to fight for that control, you have to fight first of all. You have to fight for the second balls, fight for the first balls, and try and feel your way into the game. And then the quality will come through.
"I felt as if we never got a grip on the game at all today. Had moments but not enough moments to go and really put them under pressure."
Goals from Kerkez and Salah at the close of each half had offered Liverpool the prospect of mounting a fightback. However, Robertson maintained the Reds had earned nothing from their journey to the capital.
"Coming in at 2-1, we probably didn't deserve it really," he told LFC TV. "And you come in, 'Okay, we've got a chance here. We can get back in the game. Good time to score a goal right on half-time.'".
Igor Thiago celebrates Brentford's third goal against Liverpool
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Igor Thiago celebrates Brentford's third goal against Liverpool(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
"Come out for the second half and I thought they started the second half really well. They were the one pushing again, winning set-pieces, winning corners. We didn't push on from that. You just try and they get a penalty, whether it's on the line, off the line, whatever.
"But then you're 3-1 down and it's just about throwing bodies forward and it becomes chaotic. There's no structure to it which is never good.
"We get a goal, okay. We try and push and nearly score right at the end but, to be honest, if we got a draw today it would have probably flattered us."
He went on: "We've got to work harder. In training, in games, recovering better. When you're at this football club, people demand results.
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"In a difficult moment, the only way to get out of it is to work even harder, run that bit more and look after yourself that bit better. And that's what we've got to do.
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"The results have been nowhere near good enough over the last five or six games. We're the only ones who can get us out of it. We know that.
"Starting Wednesday again, there's no rest. There's no time to re-group. We've got games, games, games. Sometimes it can be a good thing that you've got such a quick turnaround and we can go again.
"But we need to start playing better and we need to start showing a lot more consistency in our game."