Liverpool are still ruing missing out on Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day as their defensive woes continue - but they were handed a new reminder of their problems in the Reds' 3-2 loss at Brentford
Liverpool boss Arne Slot reacts on the touchline
Liverpool boss Arne Slot is struggling to find the answers for his team's sudden slump in form
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When Liverpool returned to winning ways in midweek against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Reds will have hoped they had turned a corner following their recent losing run. But alas, they were brought crashing back down to earth away at Brentford on Saturday.
As Arne Slot’s men thrashed the Bundesliga opposition 5-1 in Germany, Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmoller was left to curse a number of his former players. While Hugo Ekitike scored on his return to his old club, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai also got their names on the scoresheet against their old RB Leipzig assistant coach.
Yet the shoe was on the other foot for Liverpool on Saturday evening as they came up against a number of familiar faces in the capital.
And while no former Reds got on the scoresheet for Brentford, they still all played their part in the Bees’ 3-2 win.
Jordan Henderson shone in midfield against his old club as he faced off against Liverpool for the first time since leaving the Reds in 2023, while Caoimhin Kelleher made a number of saves in his own maiden meeting with his former employers since leaving Anfield in the summer.
Meanwhile, Sepp van den Berg impressed at the heart of defence,producing one vital block to deny Mohamed Salah from close-range in particular before helping Keith Andrews’ side see out their 3-2 win.
The Dutchman only made four appearances for Liverpool following his £1.3m arrival in the summer of 2019, but has gone on to shine for Brentford, after successful loans in the Championship and Bundesliga, since moving to the capital in a deal worth up to £25m last year.
And ahead of facing the Reds, he set tongues wagging after revealing that Slot, who previously coached his compatriot at PEC Zwolle when Van den Berg was just a teenager, had actually asked him to stay put at Anfield.
“I got a tap on my shoulder,” Van den Berg recalled to the Guardian when revealing how he had actually bumped into Slot in Zwolle ahead of his new head coach’s first pre-season at Liverpool. “I was a bit surprised. And maybe it was a little bit awkward.
“It was just funny … coming from the same hometown, he’d coached me when I was a kid and now he’s the guy at Liverpool.
“He was just like: ‘How’s your off-season been? Have you been working? Are you ready for pre-season?’ I said: ‘Yes, of course.’
“But in my own head, I was thinking: ‘Yeah, I’m ready but hopefully I’m not even coming back for pre-season,’ because I wanted to leave.
“It was totally different (when I started pre-season). The years before, I never had this feeling of me having a proper chance.
“A few weeks down the line, he (Slot) was saying: ‘You’re doing very well. I want you to stay.’ If you have the manager of Liverpool saying that, it’s not nothing.
“So, of course, I started thinking again. ‘Maybe I should stay, maybe I should sign a new contract here.’ It was weird.
“He was open, easy to speak to. We’re both Dutch, so we are very direct. I like that. He told me: ‘You’re not going to start but I believe if you stay you will get a chance in the future to start.’”
Sepp van den Berg is interviewed by club media after helping Brentford win 3-2 against his former club, Liverpool
Sepp van den Berg is interviewed by club media after helping Brentford win 3-2 against his former club, Liverpool
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Van den Berg ultimately opted to move on regardless, and went on to make 35 appearances in all competitions for Brentford last season. Whether he would have got the chances touted by Slot if he stayed put is debatable.
Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate were Liverpool’s undisputed first-choice centre-back partnership, and made 49 and 42 appearances respectively in all competitions.
Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez provided back-up, but the former started just once at centre-back in the Premier League all season prior to the Premier League being won - and that was on the opening day of the campaign when he was withdrawn at half-time away at Ipswich Town.
He would go on to be sold to Bayer Leverkusen this summer in his own £35m transfer in pursuit of starting opportunities elsewhere, though the Reds do retain a buyback option.
Meanwhile, Gomez endured an injury-plagued campaign as he was limited to just seven starts in Premier League and Champions League before a hamstring injury ruled him out for virtually the entirety of the second half of the season.
Had he stayed put, Van den Berg’s plight would have unlikely been any different than Quansah and Gomez’s limited roles as Liverpool marched to the Premier League title.
But it would have perhaps been a different story this season as the Reds continue to struggle defensively and, after selling Quansah, have already lost summer signing Giovanni Leoni to a season-ending ACL injury.
Following Liverpool’s loss to Brentford, they have lost four times from their opening nine Premier League matches. They lost only four times in total last season and two of them came after the title was won.
Meanwhile, they have conceded an eye-watering 21 goals from their 14 outings so far this season, with their defeat to Brentford already the eighth time they have conceded twice or more.
Such a record has only brought further attention to their failed attempt to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the summer.
The Reds tried and failed to bolster their centre-back ranks further, only to see the Eagles pull the plug on a move for the England international on transfer deadline day.
With Slot’s side losing five of their last six games, starting with a 2-1 loss at Selhurst Park, supporters have been left ruing their unsuccessful signing of Guehi more and more with each passing week. And they could be handed a fresh reminder of their transfer failing on Wednesday, when they lock horns with Palace for the third time this season when hosting the Eagles in the League Cup fourth round at Anfield.
Marc Guehi playing against Liverpool in the Community Shield
Marc Guehi almost joined Liverpool in the summer
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Liverpool do remain interested in the 25-year-old, who is out of contract himself at the end of the season, but face competition from a number of sides. With a number of them elite clubs on the continent, he could sign a pre-contract agreement with any overseas side from January 1.
It remains to be seen if the Reds will make a renewed move for his services in January following Leoni’s injury, with it previously felt they would instead wait until next summer to move for a player who will be available on a free transfer.
Admittedly, injuries to defensive figures, including Alisson Becker, and the struggles of the likes of summer signing Milos Kerkez have also not aided matters.
But it is clear that something is wrong with the Reds defensively regardless, as both Slot and Van Dijk were left to rue their struggles at the back after losing to Brentford.
“Teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play and we haven’t found an answer yet,” Slot admitted. “Going down 1-0 every time doesn’t help either. Teams know which strategy to play against us.
"You cannot even compete, which we don't do at the moment, we don't compete up there because we simply concede too many goals. And that is not something I only look at our defence [for], that's something we do with 11 players together.”
Meanwhile, Van Dijk said: “The fact is that we didn't keep clean sheets for nine games. It's easy then to blame a particular person or the back line or set-pieces, but it's a collective thing in the end as well.
“Everyone has to look in the mirror, including myself. That's what we all do and that's what we all have discussed as well. I'm sure we will get out of this, but we don't get out of this just by talking about it.
“Obviously I have to come here because you guys ask me to come here, otherwise I would just focus on trying to get back on track with my team.
“We'll try to improve, that's what we work on; it's not that we're doing nothing in training or nothing behind the scenes. We all want to improve, that's why we're on the pitch as well.
“But it's tough at the moment. We need each other, we need the support, we need the people that were celebrating with us as well last year to be there for us now even more, and then I'm very confident that we will get out of this because we have the quality offensively, defensively.
“But the reality is we are looking for a clean sheet but definitely for a win again. That's the reality.”
The futures of both Konate and Gomez are uncertain too, to further muddy the waters. The Frenchman, who has struggled for form for the majority of the campaign to date, is also out of contract at the end of the season.
Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre
Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre
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Meanwhile, the England international, who has started just once so far this season, was subject to interest from the likes of AC Milan and Brighton & Hove Albion prior to the end of the summer transfer window. Had Liverpool signed Guehi, he would have likely moved on.
Supporters will be left hoping that the Reds do look to sign a new defender in January in a bid to reverse their flailing fortunes.
But while it is by no means a guarantee, it is also debatable how much of a difference it would actually make given part of their problem is the number of changes made to Slot’s squad and the ongoing adaptation period after a £450m summer spending spree.
Of course, they are not the only side who have had to adapt after summer changes. Van den Berg actually pointed out that Brentford have had to contend with similar issues as he shared his delight at getting one over on his former club.
“You have to consider at the start (of the season), a few changes, a new manager,” he told club media. “It’s always difficult. Luckily, it didn’t take too much time.
“Now we are the way we wanted to play and in a very good place now. I was very happy (to beat Liverpool). I think we deserved it.
“The last couple of games, you can see us as a team really came together now and really became one. On Monday (against West Ham) we showed the same character and today again, against the champions of the Premier League last season. We’ve done amazing.
“It’s always nice (to beat your former club). It’s Saturday night, under the lights, Gtech, against Liverpool, former champions.”
Van den Berg previously admitted last season that he would jump at the opportunity to return to Liverpool one day.
While there is currently no suggestion of the Reds looking to bring the centre-back back to Anfield, his presence at the heart of their latest loss only reiterates their current defensive frailties.
He is a reminder of what they could have had, and what they still need to add to their squad despite their hefty summer transfer spend.
Van den Berg might never be the answer at Anfield, but, had he stayed put, he could have at least been a possible solution to an increasingly glaring issue.
Instead, he is left just rubbing salt in Liverpool wounds as Slot continues to contend with a defensive problem the Dutchman himself admits he has so far struggled to solve.