Arne Slot has new Liverpool problem after Brentford loss with Reds in crisis

Liverpool manager Arne Slot was dealt a new problem on Saturday night when Curtis Jones was forced off injured during their 3-2 loss to Brentford. The Reds were already without the injured Ryan Gravenberch, and Alexis Mac Allister was relegated to the bench at Gtech Stadium due to a dip in form and fitness. Jones' injury further limits the Dutchman in midfield moving forward.

Jones, who was playing alongside Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield, had to be substituted in the second half due to an apparent groin injury, with Rio Ngumoha stepping in. Despite his previous heroics at Newcastle, Ngumoha couldn't turn the tide for Liverpool, who suffered a 3-2 defeat in West London.

This marks Liverpool's fourth consecutive Premier League loss, following recent defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea, and Manchester United. Arne Slot's champions had won in midweek, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 away from home in the Champions League. But domestically their struggles continue with their title defence now effectively over already.

A glum Slot said post-match: "Another time disappointing. Disappointing result and performance today as well. Another time conceding in five minutes. So, yeah.

"Conceding three goals is far too much if you want to win a game of football. The first one is a set piece, if you concede goals it's something you might expect. Second goal counter-attacks something they are very good at it, not that we defended it well at all. In the second half, a penalty made it impossible to get a result.

"What I have to do is look at what we do wrong and what we do well. Today I do have a clear idea of what we have to improve. That's not been the situation in other games we have lost, it's been some different each time. Today we didn't do the basics well. That was the main thing that we have to improve looking at this game."