Jordan Henderson reacted to Liverpool’s recent struggles after helping Brentford to a 3-2 win over his former club on Saturday night, handing the Reds their fifth defeat in six games.
Jordan Henderson believes it is “only a matter of time” before Liverpool bounce back after helping Brentford to an astonishing 3-2 win over his former club. The English midfielder was an anomaly for the Bees, who handed Arne Slott’s struggling side a fourth successive Premier League defeat.
The Reds fell behind early on when Dango Ouattara fired a long throw-in that hit the back post, but Kevin Shade scored his second goal just before half-time. Milos Kerkes managed to pull one back in stoppage time, but Igor Julio restored Brentford’s two-goal cushion with a second-half penalty.
Although manager Mohamed Salah reduced the arrears again in the closing stages, Liverpool’s misery continued and the defending Premier League champions languished in sixth place. Slott’s side have not hit their stride this season, losing five of their last six games in all competitions, despite making two huge summer transfer sprees and breaking British transfer records twice.
read more: Andy Robertson worried about joining Liverpool after moving to Brentford: ‘There’s no structure’read more: Arne Slott slams Liverpool stars for ‘no answers’ in brutal statement
But despite their current struggles, Henderson insists his former club remain a top-flight team and has given the Reds hints at reversing their fortunes. “Liverpool are a world-class team with world-class players,” he told TNT Sports.
“Looking around the pitch, there’s not much to do. They’re all quality players. I don’t see any weaknesses in the team.
“Yes, I know that the recent results have not been good for them, but for me they are still a top player, a top top team and it is only a matter of time before they find their rhythm and move forward.
“I think there are a lot of reasons why they haven’t reached the heights they had last year, but they’re still a world-class team and they’ve got players everywhere you look on the pitch, so it’s always going to be difficult. But the (Brentford) players dug deep and came together and caused us some problems on the counter.”
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“I thought we were together from start to finish. We knew it was going to be difficult at times. The way we defended together, staying calm on the ball and sometimes trying to put a long ball in behind someone running in instead of just kicking it forward, like Dams (Mikkel Damsgaard) did against Kev (Schade) for the second goal.”
“And[Igor]Thiago was a threat all night and to be fair he has been all season. We have a lot of players who are good on the counter-attack in our front three.”
“We have people like Dams, Yarmo (Yehor Yarmoljuk) and centre-halves who can pick the pass. Overall, I think it was a really good performance and I think we deserved the win in the end.”
Saturday night’s game was Henderson’s first match against Liverpool since leaving the club in the summer of 2023. Henderson, 35, admitted it was a strange experience playing against the Reds but insisted he still wants to see his old club succeed.
“I’ve been at Liverpool for a long time,” he said. “It’s been my life for 12 years, so it’s still forever close to my heart.
“It was a little strange, but as soon as the whistle went it was normal and I was ready to go and I was in the right frame of mind.
“When the whistle blew, I was completely hooked and felt better than ever. Of course (the welcome I received meant a lot). I stayed there for 12 years and gave so much of my life. My children were born there. It holds a special place in my heart.”
“I want Liverpool to do well, obviously not when we are playing against each other, but overall, that will never change.
“The fans were always great. It was special to see some of them. I know some of them left a little early because of the result, but it was nice to see them again.”
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