Five talking points from Liverpool’s disappointing 3-2 loss at Brentford 

Things have gone from bad to worse for Liverpool. 

The Reds slumped to their fourth successive Premier League defeat on Saturday, with Brentford piling misery on the reigning champions. 

Read on as we look at the main talking points from Liverpool’s 3-2 loss at the Gtech Community Stadium.  

Title defence already in tatters 

The Merseyside club’s title defence is in tatters after the damaging 3-2 defeat at Brentford. 

Arne Slot’s men bounced back from the 2-1 loss against Manchester United by thrashing Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in Wednesday’s Champions League fixture. 

But they failed to build on that result at Brentford. The defeat leaves them sixth in the Premier League table, four points behind Arsenal, who have a game in hand.

Salah is struggling 

Mohamed Salah is a generational talent who has been a consistent performer for Liverpool.

However, the Egyptian is clearly struggling to make an impact this season. 

Slot brought Salah back into the team after dropping him for the European game against Frankfurt. 

The 33-year-old scored a late goal, but he looked sluggish and his touch repeatedly let him down. 

Starting slowly 

Starting games on the back foot has become an alarming trend for Liverpool this campaign. 

They conceded within the first five minutes at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Dango Ouatarra turning home Kristoffer Ajer’s flick-on. 

This was the fourth top-flight match in a row that the Reds have shipped a goal in the opening 15 minutes. 

Szoboszlai deserves credit 

Saturday’s defeat was a collective failure, with Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Milos Kerkez all underwhelming. 

However, Dominik Szoboszlai’s display was a positive. The Hungarian never stopped running and contributed 10 ball recoveries, four clearances and three tackles. 

Szoboszlai won all of his aerial duels and completed 87 percent of his passes.

Fresh injury concern 

Liverpool were handed a fresh injury concern after Curtis Jones was forced off midway through the second half against Brentford. 

Slot was forced to bring on Rio Ngumoha, who is primarily a left-winger. 

Jones’ fitness concern means his participation in the Reds’ next two fixtures against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa is doubtful. 

Stats from Sofascore.