Liverpool's faltering title defence has echoes of Man City's struggles last year - but these are the signs that their Premier League campaign CAN still be salvaged

A pulsating lights show in Brentford made the Gtech Community Stadium feel more like the Ibiza strip in party season rather than a football ground on an ebb of west London.

Kool & The Gang’s Celebration was followed by Proud by Heather Small on the post-match playlist and, of course, the traditional rendition of Hey Jude by The Beatles.

Not just a kick in the teeth by playing a Liverpudlian band but two tunes with lyrics that feel a world away for Liverpool.

‘Celebrate good times, come on,’ went the first song. Arne Slot gave these fans some of the very best days of their lives in spring by winning the Premier League but since then, it has all been a bit gloomy with not many good times to celebrate.

‘What have you done today to make you feel proud?’ the lyrics of the next tune went. Aside from a couple of goals against the run of play, no one in a green Liverpool shirt left with any sense of pride. They were bullied, beaten black and blue by Keith Andrews’ buzzing Bees.

There was talk of recent form being a blip but, if anything, the 5-1 win over the German Bundesliga’s second-worst defence Eintracht Frankfurt feels like a blip. One step forward with that Champions League win, multiple backwards on this bitterly cold evening by the M4.

This was the worst performance of the Slot era. There is no sugar-coating that. In recent defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United, there were mitigating factors such as missed chances. There was nothing for the Reds coaches to cling on to here – and they know it.

Slot has a huge amount of credit in the bank after last season but he is not exempt from criticism, especially after a £446million summer outlay.

The general feeling is that the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez will come good soon. However with expectations sky-high after last season, they need to get a move on as this title defence is slipping through their fingers.

Some of the problems remind one of Manchester City this time last year. Pep Guardiola’s team, the four-time reigning champions at that point, won seven and drew two of the first nine games but performances were nowhere near their level in a historic Treble win a year earlier.

Then came a well-coached team who exploited all of their weaknesses, pressed them into submission and started a dismal run. Losing to Bournemouth sparked a run that saw City lose four in a row, a streak that would eventually be just three wins in 12.

The men who led them to glory the year before all dipped in form at once, mistakes and complacency started to creep in, injuries were an issue, age seemed to catch up with several long-serving legends of the club and opposition managers had worked out how to beat them.

Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, and Manuel Akanji all saw their levels dip. Not many of those stars are still at the club.

City’s problems proved to be terminal and took Guardiola, the greatest coach of this or perhaps any generation, several months to work out how to arrest the slide and pull them into the Champions League spots by the skin of their teeth.

Will Liverpool’s title defence go the same way? It is still too early to consider that as all their problems seem fixable. But there is one worry that nags in the back of the mind every time you try to turn negatives into a positive for Liverpool right now.

It is encapsulated by one quote from Slot after the Brentford game, where he said: ‘Teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play against us. And we have not found an answer yet.’

So there you go, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Manchester City – the next three opponents in the Carabao Cup and league – here is how to beat Liverpool: go direct. Oliver Glasner, Unai Emery and Guardiola will be rubbing their hands.

Of course, it is worth adding that Slot talking so openly about tactics should be lauded not mocked. Modern-day teams, with their army of analysts and football minds better than ours, will know all this already.

But to hear an admission that the Liverpool boss is lacking answers is a reason to cause great anxiety in the fanbase. How can a team that looked so formidable, one that would instil shaking fear into genuinely good teams, suddenly be so vulnerable?

There have been some laughable suggestions that Liverpool will need a season or two to get used to playing together with all these new signings. That is ridiculous. When you spend so much money, the scrutiny is correctly on for quick success.

Going back to the City comparison, Liverpool have a history of struggling in title defences. That difficult second album. Most recently in 2020-21, they started the season well – a bizarre 7-2 loss to Aston Villa turned out to be their only defeat that side of New Year.

But then it all fell apart with just three wins in 15 league games between Christmas and March 15. There were mitigating factors, such as injuries, but it felt like several members of Jurgen Klopp’s team had gone over the hill at the same time.

So are they out of this title race? No, not yet. It is certainly heading there, but seven points behind is definitely salvageable. The problem is that Arsenal look so balanced and, after several near-misses, Mikel Arteta’s men are in pole position to win a first league title since 2004.

Some issues – such as Mohamed Salah’s form, Isak’s fitness, new signings bedding in, woeful defending and goalkeeper Alisson’s injury – should rectify themselves in time. But the clock is ticking and Liverpool cannot afford to lose any more ground.

As Virgil van Dijk said yesterday: ‘It is down to us to keep going. We want to turn this around. That is a fact. I'm confident that we will, but we need to work for it with everything that we have together with everyone involved and have Liverpool in their hearts.’