Arne Slot says adapting to Liverpool’s new signings is contributing to their poor form, after their loss against Brentford extended their league losing streak to four-in-a-row.
The Premier League champions’ 3-2 defeat in west London on Saturday left Slot’s side sixth in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Arsenal who play Crystal Palace on Sunday. The head coach referred to it afterwards as one of the worst losses in his time on Merseyside.
Slot pointed to teams having “a certain playing style against us” which they haven’t found an answer to, and that their defensive mistakes aren’t allowing them to compete in games, when asked in his post-match press conference about the reversal of results. Before the four losses, they had been on a seven-game win streak.
He added on Liverpool’s summer business, which saw more than £400million spent on new signings: “It definitely also has to do with if you change quite a lot in the summer. I think it’s not a surprise it can go a bit like this.
“But I didn’t expect it to go with four losses in a row. It’s always a bit of a bumpy road if you change, that’s not so surprising.
“I don’t know if it’s being seen as an excuse but of the last six games we’ve played there have been five away, something this is not helpful if you’re on the run of form we’re on.”
Brentford’s opening goal at the Gtech Community Stadium came from a Michael Kayode long throw which was turned in by Dango Ouattara, something Slot bemoaned, as he labelled the defeat one of the worst during his tenure.
“The only thing we did yesterday on the training pitch was preparing for (long throws) and in the meeting today,” Slot added. “That’s not the only thing we prepared for as they’re also known for very good set pieces and for fantastic counter attacks.
“It should never be seen as an excuse but if I say it was a soft penalty (Virgil van Dijk’s foul on Ouattara for Brentford’s third goal) I hope you guys aren’t going to tell me that’s wasn’t soft, or a bad excuse, but it was a very soft penalty to concede.
“It’s up there in my time here in terms of losing a game of football.”
Part of the Slot’s disappointment came from the performance, not just the result.
“You’re always hoping if you a win a game in the week, although it’s only two days’ rest when you come over here, of course you’re hoping for a better result, but I was also hoping and expecting a better performance,” he explained.
“It was far from what we are used to. Even if we are losing, our performances have been better than tonight.”
