'We will get out of this' – Van Dijk bullish as Liverpool's losing run continues

Virgil van Dijk is certain Liverpool will find a way out of their slump, after Brentford inflicted the Reds' fourth consecutive Premier League defeat on Saturday.

Liverpool travelled to the Gtech Community Stadium hoping to build on Wednesday's 5-1 Champions League rout of Eintracht Frankfurt, which ended a run of four straight losses in all competitions.

But a dire first half gave them a mountain to climb, as Dango Ouattara scored off a long throw from Michael Kayode before Kevin Schade slotted in Brentford's second.

Milos Kerkez pulled one back in first-half stoppage time, but Igor Thiago restored Brentford's two-goal lead from the penalty spot after Virgil van Dijk's foul on Ouattara was adjudged to have taken place on the line of the area.

Mohamed Salah's brilliant strike set up a nervy finish, but Liverpool were unable to find a leveller as they became just the fourth reigning Premier League champions to lose four consecutive games, after Leicester City in 2016-17 (five), Liverpool themselves in 2020-21 and Manchester City last season (both four).

The Reds have now lost as many Premier League games this season as they did in the entirety of last campaign (four). They have also lost four in a row for the first time since February 2021, while their previous four defeats came across a run of 47 matches (W32 D11).

Asked what has gone wrong for Arne Slot's team in recent weeks, Van Dijk told TNT Sports: "It's difficult to say. The fact we didn't keep a clean sheet for nine games! 

"It's easy to blame a particular person, the backline or set-pieces, but it's a collective thing in the end. Everyone has to look in the mirror, including myself. 

"I am sure we will get out of this, but we won't do it just by talking about it. We will try to improve. We need each other, we need the support. 

"We need the people who were celebrating with us last year to be with us now even more. We will get out of this because we have the quality."

Things do not get much easier for Liverpool, either, as they host Crystal Palace – who have already beaten them in the Community Shield and the Premier League this season – in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Aston Villa then visit Anfield next Saturday, and Van Dijk knows a major improvement is needed, saying: "We have the next game on Wednesday against an opponent who already made our life difficult this season.

"We have to turn our mindset pretty quickly to be ready for that. They will come to Anfield to hurt us even more, but this is a tough one to take. We can't deny that. 

"It's not an easy moment. We were trying to build on that performance against Frankfurt and this was not a nice evening to have."

Brentford, meanwhile, are up to 10th in the table after winning three of their last four games, and Schade – who has seven goals in his last 14 Premier League starts at home – believes they can go toe-to-toe with any team.

"I think if we get the basics right, we can beat anyone," he said. "Obviously, they are the better team in general, but we knew we can hurt them and that's what we did.

"We made it tight with 3-2 at the end, we could have played it better late on but in the end, it was deserved."