A number of aspects of Liverpool’s performance in the embarrassing loss to Brentford have come under fire from Andy Robertson.
Robertson has spoken candidly about how his team “struggled” to handle Thomas Frank’s team at the Gtech Community Stadium despite being “prepared” for what the Bees would throw at them.
Brentford took the lead after Ibrahima Konate scored an own goal, and Yoane Wissa added a second soon before halftime. At the break, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp made three substitutions, including Robertson.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled a goal back for Liverpool, but Bryan Mbeumo sealed all three points for the hosts six minutes from time. The defeat leaves the Reds sixth in the Premier League table.
“It’s obvious that we didn’t follow instructions. That’s all there is to it, the full-back said to Viaplay following the match.
“We had no runners behind us, no one high and wide, no one in the spaces, we couldn’t hold onto the ball, we lost the second balls, balls behind them they dealt with, set pieces they handled with. You won’t ever arrive to a conclusion at this location if you add up all of those factors.
We were aware of Brentford’s strengths, which are easy to identify because they consistently excel at them. We knew what to expect and were prepared, but we still had trouble.
“Set-pieces were a huge weapon for them, the first two goals came from that, that’s hugely disappointing from our point of view. You go in at half-time at 2-0 down and you have to fight an uphill battle.”
The Scotland international acknowledges that there were improvements after the break, but the damage had already been done, and Brentford deserved to win.
“We tried, the first 15-20 minutes of the second half, I thought we pushed well, we got a goal, we obviously got one chalked off, we had a couple of half opportunities, and then the later it went, we started to commit more guys forward, and we got smacked on the counter-attack,” he added.
“I don’t think we can complain about the outcome today, about where the three points went, because I think Brentford deserved it and that’s why we’re in this situation,” said the player.