Van Dijk Confident Liverpool’s Quality Will End Slump after Fourth Straight Defeat

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk remains confident that the team’s quality will shine through despite a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, this time falling 3-2 to Brentford on Saturday.

The Reds’ title defence has crumbled over the past month, dropping them to sixth place in the table. Leaders Arsenal could extend their advantage to seven points over Arne Slot’s side on Sunday.

Liverpool’s defensive struggles were once again on display, with Brentford punishing them through set pieces and counter-attacks. The Reds have now conceded two or more goals in six of their nine league matches and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine outings.

“It’s difficult to explain. The fact we haven’t kept a clean sheet in nine games says a lot,” said Van Dijk. “It’s easy to blame individuals or the backline, but it’s a collective issue. Everyone, including myself, has to look in the mirror.

“I’m sure we’ll get out of this, but not by just talking. We have to improve together. We need each other, and we need the fans who celebrated with us last year to stick with us now even more. We’ll turn this around because we have the quality, both offensively and defensively.”

Manager Arne Slot admitted deep concern, calling the Brentford loss Liverpool’s worst performance of the season.

“You can’t compare all of them, but losing four in a row is worrying,” Slot said. “Today’s performance, though, was the most disappointing of them all.”

By Yockshard Enyendi