Paul Merson criticized Arne Slott after the Reds’ 3-2 loss to Brentford, who admitted Liverpool struggled to deal with two particular aspects of the game.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has criticized Arne Slott for admitting his Liverpool side struggled with two particular aspects of the game after the 3-2 defeat at Brentford. In the post-game interview, Slott admitted he was still wondering how the Reds would counter a team that uses long balls and low blocks.
Ahead of the game at the G-Tech Community Stadium, the Dutch manager spoke candidly about the challenges posed by opponents sitting deep and playing head-to-head. The match culminated in the Reds’ fourth consecutive loss in the Premier League. And Slot’s team was defeated by these tactics against the Bees in exactly the same way.
Dango Ouattara’s opening goal was the result of a long throw from Michael Kayode, while Brentford completed 64 long passes throughout the game, the most ever this season. Asked in his post-match press conference about the reasons for Liverpool’s recent poor performance, Slott replied: “There are quite a few things.”
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“There’s no doubt that the team has a certain style of play against us. It’s a very good strategy. We haven’t found the answer yet. If you’re down 1-0, it doesn’t matter after five minutes. We can still score two goals today, even when we don’t play well, but we can’t compete. We’re not doing that at the moment because we’re conceding too many goals. It’s not just the defense that 11 players do together.”
Merson suggested it was not the wisest move after Slott admitted Liverpool were struggling with their rivals’ deep, direct tactics. He also said signing Florian Wirtz and losing Trent Alexander-Arnold could prove to be a mistake.
“I didn’t like Arne Slott’s comments about not being able to cope with long balls and low blocks,” former Aston Villa and England star Merson told Sky Sports.
“They’ve just bought Florian Wirths for over £100m who can outrun 10 players behind the ball. He’s a great player. He’s got a good football brain and he’s smart enough to solve defences. That’s why they bought him.”
“They don’t have Trent Alexander-Arnold anymore and he played a big part in Liverpool collapsing the team. There’s a lot going into Werts right now and he’s struggling.”
“I don’t think he’s ever played against a team like Brentford in Germany. Saturday’s result doesn’t happen very often in places like Germany, Spain or Italy, but it’s not unusual in the Premier League for lower teams to go out and score three goals against favorites and defending champions.”
“This kind of thing doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world, which is why it can be difficult for new players. You don’t get free games in the Premier League.
“Liverpool also have the best centre-half in the world in Virgil van Dijk, which is why the comments about the long ball in the slot are a big concern. People are trying to damage Liverpool in that way now. Teams are trying to move the ball forward and Brentford have had great success.”
“Liverpool will have to find answers quickly. They know what will happen in the coming weeks.”
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