Andy Robertson gave an honest interview after Liverpool suffered a 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday night, giving them their fourth straight Premier League defeat.
Andy Robertson has confessed that Liverpool did not stick to their game plan in a brutally honest assessment of the Reds’ 3-2 defeat at Brentford. After winning against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, Arne Slott’s side fell to the ground again, losing four straight in the Premier League.
Just five minutes into the game, Dango Utara turned the ball around and scored at the far post from a Bees long throw, before Kevin Schade ran into Mikel Damsgaard’s through ball and added another point to extend the lead. Milos Kerkes pulled one back for Liverpool in first-half stoppage time, scoring his first goal for the club.
However, the Hungarian’s shaky start to his Reds career continued and he was replaced by Robertson shortly after the end. By this time, Slott’s team had fallen further behind due to Igor Thiago’s penalty.
read more: Virgil van Dijk gives Liverpool reality check after champions sink to rock bottom recordread more: Arne Slott slams Liverpool stars for ‘no answers’ in brutal statement
Despite Mohamed Salah closing the gap late in the match, Liverpool were unable to overturn the lead and suffered their fifth defeat in their last six games in all competitions. After the final whistle, Robertson admitted the Reds were “nowhere near good enough” against Brentford as they extended their losing streak in the Premier League.
Despite being well aware of the threat posed by Keith Andrews’ team, the Scotland international was left at a loss as he admitted the Reds ultimately did not follow their game plan. “Off the ball we didn’t do a good enough job. On the ball, I think we created some moments in the first half, but we kept the ball really well,” he said.
“But you can’t come to Brentford away and expect them to play off the park, because they’re always ready to fight. They’ll always be ready to put their bodies in the box, put the ball behind them, pick up the second ball when it comes to set pieces. They’ll know what they’re going to do here. They’ve always been the same and they’re very good at it.”
“It felt like we were a yard away in that regard. They picked up a lot of second balls and then put the ball in behind. Our backline is running back to try and head the ball and it’s very difficult. We know how difficult it is and how good a set-piece team they are.”
“We’ve been working on our long throws and everything, and in five minutes we allowed three long throw-ins and conceded a goal from one of them. That’s not enough. We played into their hands and struggled from there. We kept fighting, but it was far from enough.”
Up to 60% off Premier League kits and merchandise
various
fanatic
Click here to purchase sale items
Fanatics has taken up to 60% off football kits and merchandise. Until Sunday, fans can find discounted products from Premier League clubs including Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, Arsenal, Spurs and more.
“You have to fight for the initiative. There’s no team in the Premier League that says, ‘Come on, get the ball, we’ll try to defend.’ Nobody does that.
“They always have a game plan, against us and against any team. All Premier League managers are very talented, especially the teams who have been preparing all week. I think they had a clear game plan and they played perfectly according to it.”
“We didn’t play our game at all and that’s what makes it so difficult. Even if we think we’re going to come out and all of a sudden they go down, we take control and just wait until we score. That never happens.”
“This is my ninth season and I think it’s probably only happened once or twice. If we were expecting that, we’d be in big trouble.
“You have to fight to get that control. You have to fight first of all. You have to fight for the second ball, you have to fight for the first ball, you have to fumble your way into the game. That will show the quality.”
“I felt like we just didn’t have the game today. We had our moments, but we didn’t have enough time and we put pressure on them.”
Goals from Kerkes and Salah towards the end of the first half gave Liverpool a glimmer of hope for a comeback. But Robertson admitted the Reds had gained nothing from the trip to the capital.
“Winning 2-1, we probably didn’t really deserve it,” he told LFC TV. “And you said, ‘Okay, we have a chance here. We can get back in the game. This is a good opportunity to score a goal just before half-time.’
“Coming out towards the second half, I thought they started the second half really well, they pushed again, won set pieces and won corners.
“We didn’t push from there, but if you try, you can get a penalty for anything, whether it’s on the line or off the line.
“But when you’re losing 3-1, you just throw your body forward, and it becomes a chaotic situation. There’s no structure to it, and it’s never good.”
“We scored a goal, so-so. We pushed and almost scored at the end, but to be honest, if we had drawn today, it probably would have pleased us.”
He added: “We have to work harder. We have to recover better, both in training and in matches. When you’re at this football club, people want results.
“In difficult moments, the only way out of it is to work harder, run a little more, take care of yourself a little more. And that’s what we have to do.”
“The results of the last five or six games have not been good enough. Only we can get out of this situation. We know that.
“We start again on Wednesday, so there’s no time off. There’s no time to regroup. There’s games, games, games. Sometimes it’s a good thing to be able to respond so quickly and be able to play again.
“But we need to start playing better and start showing more consistency in our game.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£43
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
