Liverpool vice-captain Andy Robertson claimed his side had “no structure,” failed to follow Arne Slot’s game plan and simply “didn’t do enough” against Brentford during a withering rant.
Robertson watched on from the bench as the reigning Premier League champions were consigned to a fourth consecutive top-flight loss on Saturday night. Brentford had the better of Liverpool from the opening exchanges, taking a fifth minute lead through Dango Ouattara which Kevin Schade doubled on the cusp of half-time.
Milos Kerkez pulled one back for the visitors but the Bees were well deserving of a two-goal cushion by the time Igor Thiago converted a 60th-minute penalty. Mohamed Salah’s late consolation caused some consternation among the bitterly cold corner of west London, yet Robertson could not begrudge Brentford their 3–2 triumph.
As the furious Scottish fullback told LFC TV during a three-minute debrief, Liverpool just were “not good enough.”
Liverpool’s Continued Set-Piece Strife
Four Premier Leagues losses in a row. Hard times for Liverpool. pic.twitter.com/i9HKmQwHYN
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) October 25, 2025
Brentford’s opening goal came through the most familiar avenue for the Bees: a Michael Kayode long throw. It has become a worryingly common occurrence for the Reds as well, with Ouattara’s swipe the sixth set-piece goal Liverpool have shipped this season. Only crisis-stricken West Ham United have conceded more.
“We didn’t do enough off the ball,” Robertson fumed. “They’re always going to be ready to put bodies in the box when it comes to set pieces, put the balls in behind, pick up second balls. You know what you’re going to come to, here. They’re always the same and they’re so good at it.
“It felt to me like we were just a yard off it in terms of that. They picked up so many second balls, and then the balls in behind.”
As Slot would point out himself, preparing for Brentford’s long throws was “the only thing we did yesterday on the training pitch.”
“It’s not good enough,” Robertson concluded, “you play into their hands and have got an uphill battle from there.”
Abandoned Gameplan
After falling behind, Liverpool briefly assumed control during the opening half-hour. Yet, wayward touches from Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah allowed that dominance to seep away as Brentford grew back into the contest.
“You have to fight for the control,” Robertson moaned. “No team in the Premier League, nobody’s going to go, ‘On you go, you take the ball, we’ll try and defend.’ Nobody does that.
“They always have a game plan, against us and every team. All the managers in the Premier League are so talented, especially the teams that have got a full week to prepare. They would have had a clear gameplan and I think they played theirs perfectly.
“We didn’t play ours at all. That makes it so difficult. If you just think you’re going to show up and all of a sudden they’re going to drop off, we’re going to have control and we’ll just wait until we score. It never, ever happens.
“This is my ninth season, I think maybe it’s only happened once or twice. If we expect that, then we’re in big bother.”
Beyond the tactical abandonment, Robertson also pointed to a lack of grit. “You have to fight for that control, you have to fight first of all,” he warned. “You have to fight for the second balls, fight for the first balls, and try and feel your way into the game. And then the quality will come through.”
No Structure
Robertson admitted that Liverpool “probably didn’t deserve” to only be trailing 2–1 at half-time. They sooned remedied that with an oddly listless start to the second 45 minutes, failing to escape their own half as Brentford eventually forced through their third goal of the game.
“We didn’t push on from that. You just try and they get a penalty,” Robertson sighed, swatting away the debate of that particular spot kick, “whether it’s on the line, off the line, whatever.”
Trailing 3–1, Slot made four changes within the space of eight minutes, leaving himself with a horribly top-heavy 4-1-5 that caused Brentford few issues.
“It’s just about throwing bodies forward and it becomes chaotic,” Robertson shrugged. “There’s no structure to it which is never good.”
How Liverpool Can Turn It Around
Robertson’s message to his underperforming teammates was simple: “We’ve got to work harder.
“In training, in games, recovering better. When you’re at this football club, people demand results. In a difficult moment, the only way to get out of it is to work even harder, run that bit more and look after yourself that bit better. And that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Given the packed schedule, there isn’t much time to work on the training pitch. Liverpool are back at Anfield on Wednesday for a Carabao Cup tie against a Crystal Palace side which has already beaten them twice this season.
“There’s no time to re-group,” the fullback fretted. “We’ve got games, games, games. Sometimes it can be a good thing that you’ve got such a quick turnaround and we can go again.
“But we need to start playing better and we need to start showing a lot more consistency in our game.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Andy Robertson Tears Liverpool Apart in Three-Minute Tirade.