United keep winning, Liverpool keep losing

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

THE CRISIS is over for Manchester United. For now at least.

For Liverpool, however, it is a very different story after a fourth straight loss in the Premier League yesterday. A 3-2 defeat at Brentford delivered the latest blow to the defending champions’ trembling title defence and left them sixth in the standings.

United are heading in the opposite direction, a 4-2 win against Brighton moving Ruben Amorim’s team up to the heady heights of the top four.

Sunderland, though, are providing the unexpected narrative of the season after a stunning comeback 2-1 win at Chelsea saw them climb to second.

The losses keep on coming for Liverpool.

Not even a frantic fightback at the Gtech Community Stadium could prevent coach Arne Slot suffering a fourth straight defeat in the league, a result that leaves his team four points adrift of leaders Arsenal, having played a game more.

“This is a tough one to take. Unfortunately, this was another not nice evening to have,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. “I am sure we will get out of it, but we won’t get out of it by just talking about it.”

Brentford led 2-0 after goals from Dango Ouattara and Kevin Schade. Milos Kerkez then got Liverpool back into the game in first-half stoppage time.

Igor Thiago’s penalty in the second half put Brentford back in control until Mohamed Salah lashed a brilliant shot into the top corner in the 89th. With 11 minutes of added time, the Merseyside club ramped up the pressure in search of an equaliser, but couldn’t find a way through.

It raises further questions about Liverpool’s title defence, coming on the back of defeats against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, and United. Not since 1984 have Liverpool successfully retained the title.

In all, it was a fifth loss from the last six games in all competitions.

Slot said it was the worst performance of all the losses in the league.

“We didn’t do the basics right, especially the first half, but during parts of the second half as well,” he told TNT Sports.

A third straight win for United extended Amorim’s best league run since he was appointed as coach last November, and provided a sense of momentum not felt for a long time at Old Trafford.

“I think we are improving in the bad moments,” he said. “We can respond in a different way and we feel that we can solve anything. It’s so hard and in football, everything can change in one week, so let’s enjoy today and focus on the next one.”

It was the first time United had won three league games in a row in the same season since February 2024.

Victory also ended Brighton’s winning streak in this fixture, which dated back three seasons.