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Liverpool's loss to Brentford: the transfer and referee stories, Van Dijk's injury

Liverpool had a poor performance and received a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Brentford in the first match of 2023. There are many problems related to this match.
Leey
By: Leey

Transfer story

After Liverpool's 3-1 loss to Brentford on Monday, Jamie Carragher demanded changes to the midfield, saying the team "didn't seem like a Jurgen Klopp team" and criticizing the organization's hiring practices.

At a boisterous Gtech Community Stadium, the Reds found it difficult to get into the game as goals from Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo were added to Ibrahima Konate's own goal. Although the team had a recent string of positive successes, its performances had long been questioned.

With the Reds still in sixth place and four points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand, Liverpool's chances of finishing in the top four now appear bleak.

Carragher had severe concerns about his previous team's lack of physicality and speed in the middle of the field.

"From minute one of Jurgen Klopp's era, forget the quality of the players, they were sprinting all over the place. I don't see that now. Its not a Jurgen Klopp team. And I want to know why because I can't work it out. They have some great technical players coming through, but they don't look like Jurgen Klopp players."- He said

Liverpool had poor performance in the match against Brentford

The former Liverpool defender continued by making the following comparison between the Reds and another Premier League team:

"It reminds me of the Arsenal team under Arsene Wenger, they were always a great footballing team, but their pace and physicality were what teams couldn't cope with.  And then that team morphed into something really technical, and then they never won again."

He also showed his opinion about what Liverpool needs to do in terms of transfers:

"They need a complete revamp in midfield. It's like they're trying to play the Jurgen Klopp way without Jurgen Klopp players. They're now like a normal team in terms of the press, but they're still playing that high line. They can't get in the top four without signing a midfielder. I can't see it changing before the end of the season. They're a team in transition. They've got a lot of young players who have been great for the club, but they need to go big in the summer."

Carragher suggested that Liverpool need to purchasing excellent misfielders 

Moving forward, Carragher believes that Liverpool must have spent "£200 million" on top-tier midfielders.

"You think of what United and Chelsea have spent and they're still not close to winning the league. Liverpool need to spend £200m. They need to sign three midfielders. They need to be at least £40-50m players."

Story about referees

Stuart Attwell's handling of Liverpool's loss against Brentford on Monday drew criticism from Jurgen Klopp, who said he "cannot respect" the official for allowing the Bees' third goal.

After Attwell scored, Klopp was incensed on the sidelines as Liverpool's players quickly surrounded the official and pleaded for a foul by Mbeumo on Konate.

"The third goal, I have no clue. In that situation, when you are in a full sprint and get a push in the back, you lose control and go down. Attwell thought it's not a foul and VAR hides behind the phrase 'it's not clear and obvious. The other way round, if it is a foul, you'd never say 'no, no, no'. He'd explain that, if somebody would ask him. The third goal has nothing to do with anything else, it's just a foul. The third goal I really cannot respect." - Klopp said

Additionally, Klopp criticized the referees for failing to penalize Brentford for what he believed to be misconduct during attacking set-pieces.

Juven Klopp expressed his displeasure with the referee's decisions

Konate's own goal resulted from a corner, and immediately after Wissa turned the ball in from another corner, he had a goal disallowed for offside.

"We played here last year and it was 3-3 and it’s a very similar game, a wild game, a game Brentford wants. I’m not sure you can really control it all the time because each corner is a massive threat. They stretch the rules in these moments, full-body contact. There was only one offensive foul off a set-piece tonight which was whistled and it was against us, which is really funny! Of course we don't behave perfectly but, like I said, they stretch the rules in these moments. They're really pushing, really holding and everything. That's why it's really difficult. I wish we could have done better there." – Juven Klopp showed his disagreement with the decisions of referee.

The loss for Liverpool came a week after victories against Aston Villa and Leicester, and Klopp acknowledged:

"After two super intense games, it didn't look like the belief was there any more."

Virgil van Dijk’s injury

Van Dijk soon left the field due to a injury 

When Virgil van Dijk was forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury at halftime, it caused concern for Klopp as well. The third round FA Cup match between Wolves and Liverpool is on Saturday at home.

"Virgil felt a little bit of muscle. But that is fine." - Klopp said about the condition of Van Dijk

"I didn't want to take any risks. The physiotherapists were happy with that. It's not an injury, he just felt intensity. Virg said  that he is fine, but he got treatment for the hamstring, so we said, 'don’t risk'." - He also added.

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Leey
Written by: Leey
Leey is the reporter for Betimate. She currently has a series of articles about football. She specializes in researching football data to come up with evaluations about the tournament and predictions about the matches.

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