Timor Leste Joins ASEAN

Timor Leste joins the Association of South East Asian Nations today. 

It was ASEAN’s first expansion since the 1990s and was more than a decade in the making.

I am embarrassed because I was so wrong! I had erroneously thought that Liverpool were returning to winning ways! Ehm, they lost again! This time to a 3-2 defeat to Brentford yesterday. 

Arne Slot's men fell two goals (5, 45) behind against the Bees in the first half and then hit back through Milos Kerkez on the cusp of the interval. 

Brentford earned a penalty on the hour to restore their cushion, however, and Mohamed Salah's 89th-minute effort was not enough for the Reds to take anything from this game. 

And please, do not be fooled by the narrow 3-2 scoreline. Brentford were superior in every aspect, and had Liverpool somehow rescued a point it would have been grand larceny. 

I don't think I'm the only one who feels it but there was this nagging fear that the 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt was an anomaly in an otherwise appalling run of performances and results. 

That proved to be the case, with Liverpool back to an abject level against Brentford, showing a lack of control and fight throughout. 

It is now four Premier League defeats in a row and questions are being rightly asked of Arne Slot, who looked lost. When substitutions are being made every game, when players are being shoehorned into positions and every change looks like a desperate gamble, it tells you everything was wrong to start off with. 

And Liverpool are in sixth place ‒ four points behind leaders Arsenal.