Massive mistake cost Liverpool against Brentford

Liverpool are prone to making a catalogue of errors in almost every game they feature in.

Of course, things didn't used to be this way. Last season, the Reds were almost faultless each time they took to the field, and even when errors started to creep in, the team battled hard until the end.

This season, however, the hunger and desire levels appear to have dropped, and the mistakes are far more prominent than we've seen before under Arne Slot. The statement 'four consecutive Premier League losses for Liverpool' is quite difficult to comprehend, but that's the reality of the situation.

Crisis mode has been fully activated. Each game, the feeling around the side only worsens, and we're now in a situation whereby the new players can't continue to be blamed. The Reds' other players aren't stepping up to the plate and Slot's tactical set-up is increasingly concerning.

Everyone says, 'get the basics right' when you're struggling for form, but Liverpool need to do more than that. Everything we saw last night in the Brentford game suggests that we're not exactly giving ourselves the best chance to secure a win on the road, and that simply has to change.

How Liverpool played into Brentford's hands

As we've seen in the five games prior to the contest at the GTEC Community Stadium, Liverpool conceded first, and in particularly early fashion as well, making it almost impossible for the team to stick to the plan Slot had orchestrated, since we're already chasing the game.

Against Crystal Palace it took nine minutes, against Chelsea it was 14 minutes, against Manchester United it was two minutes, against Eintracht Frankfurt it was 26 minutes, and Brentford needed just five minutes to get the Reds on the back-foot. Fans are sent into meltdown from the off.

Of course, one initial piece of advice might be to work on being more organised in defence, but one thing in the run-up to the Bees' opener suggests that Liverpool might be at fault for their own demise.

That is the long-throw that set-piece coach turned head coach Keith Andrews is known for using.

Protocol in the Premier League and the rest of the English Football League (EFL) is that towels are not allowed to be used during matches to dry the ball. This specific rule, that isn't an official IFAB law, is part of the wider multi-ball system implemented two seasons ago, in an attempt to speed up play.

Ordinarily, you might not see a difference in how things unfold on the pitch, but Liverpool were said to have broken the rules at Anfield last week against Manchester United, after Slot picked up the ball and threw it to his players, rather than letting the throw-in taker pick it up himself. That action, among others, breached the guidelines, according to the Daily Mail, leading to the club getting a 'warning'.

A severe amount of added time was played against Brentford, and it was difficult not to pick up on how long it was taking the hosts to delver their throw-ins. It soon became clear that a towel was being used, and immediately, I felt something had gone wrong. Later on Saturday night, I noticed the caveat to the towel rule that would have allowed Brentford to get away with it. And it's our own fault.

BBC Sport reported last month about a specific incident between Newcastle and Arsenal, about how the use of towels was not seen as legal as both teams hadn't agreed to it prior to the match. That's right, the rule can be sidelined if the two clubs are in agreement that they should be used.rnens

However, knowing how much Arne Slot despises the use of set-pieces in football right now - with him commonly being found to have criticised the nature of the goals Liverpool concede, in addition to the frequent use of long-balls, which catch the players out all the time - it feels bizarre to know that Liverpool knowingly played into Brentford's hands. A long-throw, which cost us the first goal.

In the fine print of the rule, players are allowed to use their shirt to dry the ball if towel-use isn't agreed, so perhaps the difference is marginal, but Liverpool should never had agreed to the call.

To say this is the only reason behind the Reds' latest defeat would be to make a sweeping judgement that overlooks the major issues in the team. A lot went wrong for the team, and the issues aren't new, but sanctioning the abandonment of a rule that makes defending long throw-ins harder, feels like the kind of problem that only Liverpool could give themselves. A perfect illustration of our shortcomings.

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