Arne Slot believes it has become harder for Liverpool to score goals after coming away late to claim a 2-0 stoppage-time win over Brentford.
The league leaders, who made 37 shots on Saturday, needed Darwin Nunez’s late double to claim three valuable points in their quest for Premier League glory.
The hard-fought victory in west London came after successive draws against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest and Slot believes the opponents’ defensive set-up made it increasingly difficult for his side to find the net.
“What you see is that at the moment it is more difficult for us to convert our chances into goals,” Slot said.
“It’s not just down to us, it’s also because teams throw themselves in front of every ball every chance we get.
“A lot of other teams try to stop us from scoring because they are all in a low block.”
Liverpool’s defense has been key to their success this season, conceding just 20 goals in 21 Premier League matches.
Slot attributed the central partnership between Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk as one of the main reasons for their success.
“Most of these moments were defended very well by Ibou and Virgil,” he added.
“They went one-on-one on a counterattack, but we pushed them really well, which helped Alisson save those shots.
“I pointed out that in the pre-match meeting, Bryan Mbeumo likes it on his left and scores a lot coming in.
“Of course, one of the reasons we are so high in the table is that we have two and four very good central defenders.”
Brentford, who made a comeback in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against champions Manchester City, failed to replicate that performance on Saturday.
Bees boss Thomas Frank has cited Liverpool’s physicality as a factor in their success.
“Physically, they are exceptional,” Frank said.
“(Dominik) Szoboszlai, (Alexis) Mac Allister, (Cody) Gakpo and of course Konate and Van Dijk. They are technically and tactically fantastic and they have the physicality.