Van den Berg\u2019s \u00a325m Rise Highlights Liverpool\u2019s Defensive Woes After Brentford Defeat<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s brief revival after a midweek 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt came crashing down at Brentford, as Arne Slot\u2019s side slumped to another damaging 3-2 defeat \u2014 their fourth in the opening nine Premier League games.<\/p>\n
Ironically, several former Reds played key roles for the Bees. Jordan Henderson impressed in midfield against his old club, while ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher made several important saves. But it was Sepp van den Berg who stood out most, anchoring Brentford\u2019s defence and producing a vital block to deny Mohamed Salah.<\/p>\n
The Dutch centre-back joined Liverpool from PEC Zwolle in 2019 for \u00a31.3m but made only four senior appearances before leaving permanently last summer for a deal worth up to \u00a325m. Since then, he\u2019s flourished \u2014 and his latest performance served as a painful reminder of what the Reds let slip.<\/p>\n
Before his departure, Van den Berg had been approached by Slot, his former coach at Zwolle, who wanted him to stay at Anfield.<\/p>\n
> \u201cHe told me, \u2018You\u2019re doing very well. I want you to stay,\u2019\u201d Van den Berg recalled. \u201cOf course, when the Liverpool manager says that, you start thinking twice. But I still wanted to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
In hindsight, his decision proved wise. With Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 the undisputed pairing, and Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah providing limited back-up, opportunities would have been scarce. Now, however, as Liverpool\u2019s defence unravels, his departure looks increasingly costly.<\/p>\n
The Reds have already conceded 21 goals in 14 games this season and have lost five of their last six matches. Injuries to Alisson and new signing Giovanni Leoni \u2014 out for the season with an ACL injury \u2014 have deepened the crisis.<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s failure to sign Marc Gu\u00e9hi from Crystal Palace on deadline day only worsens the sting. They remain interested in the England international ahead of January, but with Gu\u00e9hi\u2019s contract expiring next summer, elite European clubs could soon swoop in.<\/p>\n
Both Konat\u00e9 and Gomez also face uncertain futures, adding to the instability. Konat\u00e9 is out of contract at season\u2019s end, while Gomez has drawn interest from AC Milan and Brighton after a limited campaign.<\/p>\n
Slot and captain Van Dijk have publicly acknowledged the team\u2019s defensive shortcomings.<\/p>\n
> \u201cWe concede too many goals \u2014 it\u2019s not just the defence, it\u2019s the whole team,\u201d Slot admitted.
\nVan Dijk added: \u201cIt\u2019s easy to point fingers, but everyone has to look in the mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Van den Berg, meanwhile, the picture couldn\u2019t be brighter. The 23-year-old has become a mainstay at Brentford and relished getting one over his former club.<\/p>\n
> \u201cIt\u2019s always nice to beat your old team,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re playing the way we want now \u2014 we deserved the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liverpool may not have seen him as the long-term answer, but given their current frailties, Van den Berg stands as a symbol of what they lack: composure, structure, and defensive belief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Van den Berg\u2019s \u00a325m Rise Highlights Liverpool\u2019s Defensive Woes After Brentford Defeat Liverpool\u2019s brief revival after a midweek 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt came crashing down at Brentford, as Arne Slot\u2019s side slumped to another damaging 3-2 defeat \u2014 their fourth in the opening nine Premier League games. Ironically, several former Reds played key roles …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":53103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_SOCCER_Liverpool_222224.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53104,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53102\/revisions\/53104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}