Liverpool look “weak, worried and woeful” – media write off Premier League hopes

If Liverpool weren’t already in a crisis, they are now, and the media are already writing off their title hopes after losing 3-2 at Brentford.

The Reds produced their latest hapless showing on Saturday night, with Arne Slot under more pressure than ever.

Here’s how parts of the media reacted to Liverpool’s woeful defeat.

A worrying performance devoid of quality and belief

On X, the Mail‘s Lewis Steele was brutally honest about Liverpool’s display:

“Brentford bullied the champions. Keith Andrews’s gameplan made Arne Slot‘s Liverpool look weak, worried and woeful.”

David Lynch tried to dissect another hugely disappointing evening for the Premier League champions:

“I don’t think Liverpool have bought bad players, and there’s improvement to come as the chemistry inevitably improves with time.

“But it’s hard to shake the feeling that they’ve built a team that just isn’t cut out for the Premier League as it is now. That’s not Arne Slot‘s fault.”

Sam Wallace of the Telegraph bemoaned so many issues on show for Liverpool:

“There are blips and then there are full-blown slumps, and it is the latter in which Arne Slot and his Liverpool players find themselves as the defending champions that are losing touch with the Premier League title race before the leaves are off the trees.

“Another week, another defeat – the fourth in a row in the Premier League, and the third in London against a Brentford team who picked at all the usual vulnerabilities.

“The long throw, the counter attack; this was a classic Brentford performance but Slot’s players seemed powerless to stop it.”

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian rightly said that the 5-1 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt was a false dawn:

“Victory in Frankfurt on Wednesday, it turns out, was only temporary respite.

“Liverpool didn’t just slip to a fourth league defeat in a row for the first time since February 2021, but were thoroughly outplayed and outfought by Brentford.”

Harry Bamforth of the Mail waved goodbye to the Reds’ hopes of defending their title:

“They didn’t just lose their fourth league game in a row, but they were outplayed by a Brentford team who are in transition.

“They deserved to lose by more than the one goal they did. We may only be nine games into the season, but I’m pretty sure we can say that Liverpool’s title defence is over.

“You can’t lose that many games this early on and then win the league, let’s be real.”

Liverpool have lost as many times in their opening nine Premier League games of 2025/26, as they did in the league in the whole of last season (4).

It's the first time the Reds have lost four consecutive PL games since February 2021. https://t.co/ZugDfWdC20

— Squawka (@Squawka) October 25, 2025

The Athletic‘s Andy Jones offered another damning verdict, with opponents looking hungrier than them currently:

“No title defence is over after nine league games, but Liverpool’s attempt feels like it is heading that way quickly. Title winners do not lose four games in a row, but they also rarely look as disjointed as Slot’s side currently do…

“From a side that was so assured and calm last season, Slot’s team couldn’t look further from the unit that strolled to the Premier League title.

“Opponents look hungrier and sharper than Liverpool, typified by them going behind in six consecutive matches.”

Writing for This Is Anfield, Lynch said Liverpool are in the transition season many expected to take place last year:

“Well, we all expected it immediately following Slot’s arrival, but it seems the dreaded transition season has instead arrived this time around.

“Disjointed forward play, disorganisation at the back – all the hallmarks of the difficult campaign that tends to follow major change are there.

“And so perhaps we need to adjust our expectations around what this year could potentially bring for Liverpool.

“Put simply, it is already obvious that this team isn’t anywhere near good enough to win the Premier League or the Champions League.”