Liverpool crashed to a shock 3-1 defeat against Brentford as a series of defensive blunders damaged their bid for a top four finish in the Premier League on Monday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side endured a nightmare start to 2023 and they had only themselves to blame for the horror show in west London.

Ibrahima Konate’s first half own goal set the tone for an evening scarred by mistakes at the back from Liverpool.

Yoane Wissa doubled Brentford’s lead and although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got one back, Bryan Mbeumo wrapped up Brentford’s first victory against Liverpool since 1938.

In his first appearance since playing in France’s World Cup final defeat against Argentina in December, Konate took a large share of the blame for Liverpool’s woeful defensive performance.

But the centre-back was far from alone in deserving criticism for a Liverpool display that left them in sixth place, four points behind fourth placed Manchester United who play their game in hand against Bournemouth on Tuesday. 

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