Liverpool suffered another setback against Brentford on Saturday and they are currently going through one of the toughest periods in recent history. After a run of four consecutive defeats in the 2025-2026 season Premier League season, team captain Virgil van Dijk has given a wake-up call to his teammates.
The Reds went into the match on the back of a dominant 5-1 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League, hoping the result would mark a turning point. However, Liverpool failed to carry that momentum into the home game, losing 3-2 to Brentford. The Reds once again struggled to create clear chances compared to the home side, extending their streak to nine games without a clean sheet.
Speak with TNT Sports After the match, Van Dijk addressed the team’s poor run with a message addressed to both his teammates and himself: “It’s hard to say (which is most concerning). The fact is that we did not keep a clean sheet for nine games. It is then easy to blame a particular person, the backline or set pieces, but ultimately it is also a collective matter. Everyone needs to look in the mirror, including myself.“
The Dutch defender also called on Liverpool fans to stick with the team during this difficult period. “We need the people who celebrated with us last year to be with us even more now. We come out of this because we have the quality both offensively and defensively”, he added.
Virgil van Dijk was responsible for a penalty against Dango Ouattara that Brentford eventually converted.
Liverpool has a record in the Premier League
After lifting the 2024-25 Premier League title under Arne Slot in his debut season as manager, expectations were high, especially after heavy investment during the 2025 summer transfer window. But the 3-2 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium Liverpool not only dropped to seventh place in the rankingsIt also revealed a worrying statistical decline compared to last season.
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The loss against Brentford marked Liverpool’s fourth defeat in the Premier League, equaling their total number of losses from the entire 2024/25 season. The concern is how quickly that total was reached: on matchday 9 this season, compared to just four defeats in all 38 games last season. It’s a stark contrast that underlines the Reds’ struggles.
Another big test mid-week
With both their Champions League and Premier League campaigns faltering, Liverpool will be back in action Wednesday for the fourth round of the EFL Cup against Crystal Palace at Anfield. The Eagles have already proven to be a tough opponent this year after beating Liverpool in the Community Shield to hand them their first league defeat of the season.
Van Dijk issued a strong warning before the match: “On Wednesday we have the next match against an opponent who has made our lives miserable this season. We need to change our mindset quite quickly to be ready for that. They will come to Anfield to hurt us even more, but this is a difficult task. We cannot deny that. It’s not an easy moment. We tried to build on that performance against Frankfurt and this was not a nice evening.”
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