Three things we learnt as Liverpool's woes continue with shock defeat against Brentford

It took just five minutes for the hosts to open the scoring - and it just had to be from their signature long throw. Michael Kayode's astonishing launch into the 18-yard box caused complete chaos before falling to Dango Ouattara, who volleyed the ball home from close range.

The Bees then doubled their lead just before the break after an assist-of-the-year contender from Mikkel Damsgaard, who curled a beauty of a pass through to the on-rushing Kevin Schade. The German calmly slotted the ball underneath the Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

But the lead was immediately cut in half, as Milos Kerkez arrived at the far post to slam home his first goal for the Merseyside club. Keith Andrews was furious the half had not been brought to a close with play continuing at least a minute and a half over the allotted three.

But it wouldn't matter; after VAR intervened, Outtara was deemed to have been fouled by Virgil van Dijk on the line of the box resulting in a penalty for the home side, which was dispatched by Igor Thiago for his sixth Premier League goal of the campaign already.

Mohamed Salah grabbed a late consolation for the visitors with a brilliant touch and finish off the crossbar, but it was not enough for Liverpool, who's late barrage made for a terrifying end to a crazy game for Brentford.

It marks yet another bitterly disappointing evening for the champions, who were condemned to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat. As for Brentford, they showed they are a team much more than long-ball specialists, but instead a side that can press with intensity and energy, even against some of the best in Europe.

With that being said, here are three things we learnt from the match.

Experienced players too far off it again for Liverpool

Salah ended his barren run of goalscoring form with a terrific finish off the cross bar - but it didn’t mask what was a poor performance all-round from Liverpool, and particularly their senior players.

Both Van Dijk and Salah signed well-documented mega contracts this summer - the Egyptian's in the region of £400,000 per week - but have struggled ever since.

Van Dijk, who gave away the penalty in somewhat harsh circumstances, has simply looked far off the pace. The Dutch international seems to have lost complete control of his back-line, which has caused chaos in defence.

Whether that be the new additions or simply his own performances, van Dijk has to up his game if Liverpool want to end their title defence in anything other than humiliation.

Salah's game is littered with misplaced passes, poor first touches and squandering chances, while van Dijk's leadership seems to have gone out of the window - and it has cost Slot’s side.

As senior members of this Liverpool side, they must try to galvanise or inspire this team to turn around their fortunes. Instead, performances are leaving much to be desired.

Class doesn’t disappear overnight, and for Salah he proved that at the end of the game with a terrific touch and finish, but more is needed throughout the game so that the champions do not end up in the position of chasing a two-goal defecit.

Inspiring Brentford

They may have garnered a reputation for a less attractive brand of football by hurling the ball into the box, but tonight they were marvellous - and they had far more to their game than a long throw-in.

Liverpool were nervous and shaky when in possession because they struggled to deal with Brentford’s intense pressing from minute one - they could not match the Bees’ energy.

Kayode, in particular, was absolutely everywhere for the hosts. On the right, down the left and through the centre, the full-back ran the show at times with his aggression and intensity.

Schade, who grabbed the second for Brentford, was also brilliant in his moments, while Ouattara showed his class time after time as he dominated Milos Kerkez down the right flank.

Damsgaard was supreme in the middle of the park, dancing past defenders and forcing Liverpool goalkeeper Mamardashvili into some brilliant saves.

Andrews’ side showed tonight they are far more than their reputation suggests, and are an entirely different beast at home. Beware, Newcastle, who travel to the Gtech Community Stadium in a couple of weeks.

Arne Slot told Brentford Liverpool’s weakness - they still couldn’t defend it

“In the last four or five games we've played, we were not able to press the opponent, because the ball wasn't on the ground. It was through the air,” Slot said after Liverpool’s victory against Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the week.

Keith Andrews must have been licking his lips at the thought of launching balls into the Liverpool box - and the tactic paid off to devastating effect.

It took just five minutes for the Bees to profit from a Kayode long throw, with Dango Ouattara smashing the ball into the back of the net to put the hosts ahead.

It has become a trademark at the Gtech this season, and for good reason. No team can defend them effectively - particularly a side notoriously struggling to deal with balls into the box.

What’s even more astonishing is that Brentford had even more opportunities to launch the ball into the area but bizarrely opted against doing so by taking short throws instead - an idea immediately shut down by Andrews.

But Slot admitting earlier in the week his team have struggled to deal with balls in the air only spelt trouble for tonight’s fixture, and Brentford duly delivered.