Brentford 3-2 Liverpool: Arne Slot's Reds endure their most concerning defeat yet as champions' crisis deepens

When they were kings, when they were rulers of England and Europe, when they carried all before them, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, looked to Jordan Henderson as their leader, the captain who drove them with a relentless hunger that never dimmed.

Van Dijk and Salah have stayed at Anfield and won fresh honours but on Saturday night, the odyssey on which Henderson embarked two years ago brought him up against the friends and teammates he won titles with for the first time.

Henderson’s travels have taken him to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia and to the once mighty Ajax of Amsterdam and there were times before he arrived at Brentford in the summer when people thought his career was fast ebbing away.

But by the time the final whistle blew at the Gtech Community Stadium, Henderson had confirmed his status as a player reborn and his former teammates looked like men suddenly lost and adrift in a Liverpool crisis that is gathering pace every week.

How Liverpool could have done with a player of Henderson’s composure and experience and leadership in the heart of their midfield here in west London as they were outplayed and, at times, overwhelmed by Brentford.

Their fall from grace after their title victory last season began when they lost to Crystal Palace a few weeks ago but has now reached the stage, with three more consecutive league defeats to Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford, where it is hard to see a way back for the defence of their title.

What once looked like a blip and then became a concern and then worsened to become a slide is now beginning to ask an awkward question: is what we are seeing here the start of a decline?'

This 3-2 defeat, which often looked worryingly like a capitulation, left them marooned in sixth place. They could be seven points behind leaders Arsenal by Sunday evening. They could also be ninth, if other results go against them.

And even though Brentford were excellent, even if this victory was fully deserved, it was the most concerning performance of Liverpool’s season so far. This is a side suddenly full of recriminations, staring and muttering and gesturing at each other, a side that looks adrift.

When Florian Wirtz, their £110m signing from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, left the pitch in the second half, he was accompanied by delighted chants of ‘what a waste of money’ from the Brentford fans. Wirtz is a fine player but he looks utterly bewildered by the situation he finds himself in, ill-equipped for the demands of the English game.

The biggest question of all is whether Arne Slot can turn this around. Because, at the moment his team are in freefall and he is quite clearly struggling for answers and a way out of the mess.

Some thought that their 5-1 Champions League demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany on Wednesday would have put everything right. It turns out that it did nothing of the sort. Mo Salah’s goal, a relative rarity these days, made the scoreline look closer than it should have been. Brentford were the better team by a distance.

Henderson, who played 492 games for Liverpool in 12 years with the club and won 12 trophies, was at the heart of their victory, the calming influence holding together a fine young side marshalled by Keith Andrews.

Brentford took the lead in the fifth minute. Michael Kayode launched a long throw into the box, Kristoffer Ajer rose highest to flick it on abnd Dango Ouattara escaped the attentions of Milos Kerkez and hooked the ball into the net from close range.

Liverpool had a chance to equalise almost immediately. Cody Gakpo threaded a pass through the Brentford defence to Salah but it was typical of Salah’s current uncertainty that his first touch was heavy.

It ran on just enough to allow Kelleher to throw himself at Salah’s feet and smother his attempt to poke it past him. The former Liverpool keeper got a nasty kick in the process. It was a brave save but Salah should have scored.

Liverpool dominated the game. Florian Wirtz whistled a left-foot drive inches wide, Hugo Ekitike glanced a header just past the post, Gakpo created space for himself on the edge of the box before curling a shot too high and Kerkez aimed a cross straight at Kelleher when Ekitike was waiting unmarked in the area.

But they could not find the final touch and, just after the half hour, Brentford nearly extended their lead when Henderson strode forward to the edge of the box and hit a rasping low drive just wide.

The miserable night that Kerkez was having got worse when he was booked for pulling back Ouattara and it took an outstanding one-handed save from Giorgi Mamardashvili to tip over a fine strike from Mikkel Damsgaard that was destined for the top corner.

Brentford went two ahead on the stroke of half time. The finish by Kevin Schade was assured and clinical but the pass from Damsgaard was a thing of beauty. If there is a better through ball this season anywhere, it’ll be worth the attendance money on its own to see it.

Damsgaard got the ball deep in his own half, looked up and saw something that no one else could see. He saw possibility. He saw movement from Schade. He curled the ball round the heart of the Liverpool defence and Schade ran in on their blind side and kept his composure to score.

Just as it felt Liverpool were imploding, they snatched a goal back just before the interval. Three minutes had been added and Brentford were already angry that play had seeped into a fifth minute when Conor Bradley drilled a cross in from the right, Gakpo stepped over it and Kerkez forced it over the line. Brentford were furious. Referee Simon Hooper waved away their protests.

It was Hooper’s last act. The drama increased at half-time with news that the referee had been injured and that fourth official Tim Robinson was to take over from him. The game was slightly delayed to give officials time to make the change. Hooper was now the fourth official.

Mamardashvili kept Liverpool in the game with a flying save to deny Damsgaard and a strong block to keep out Igor Thiago but then a fresh bout of controversy after an hour handed Brentford another opportunity.

Virgil van Dijk fouled Ouattara on the edge of the area and the initial decision was a free kick but VAR looked at the decision again. It was decided that when Van Dijk made contact with Ouattara’s boot, even though the boot was not grounded at the time, that it was level with the line at the edge of the box and therefore a penalty.

Liverpool protested vehemently but the penalty-taker, Igor Thiago, was unruffled. He ran up to take the kick, committed Mamardashvili with a stutter, and then dispatched the ball past him to put Brentford 3-1 up.

Brentford kept Liverpool at bay with ease until two minutes from the end of regular time when a defensive mistake allowed Dominik Szoboszlai to cross for Salah who found the kind of clinical finish many worried had deserted him.

Liverpool did not get close to finding an equaliser, though. Their crisis is deepening.