Liverpool's Collapse Under Slot Can't Be Brushed Aside
A reminder of Liverpool's nine damaging defeats this season and why the current situation under Arne Slot is nowhere near acceptable.
A Season Unravelling
As Liverpool have now matched the Hodgson-era defeats tally in 12 fewer games, it's worth looking back at the losses to remind ourselves of just how unacceptable this situation is. The fact some supporters are still making a case for Slot to stay can only mean they've forgotten how bad several of these matches have been.
Crystal Palace Away
The first real crack appeared against Crystal Palace. After being absolutely battered, we somehow dragged it back to 1-1 late on, only to concede a soft 97th-minute winner from a long throw.
1-2 Loss, Premier League (away).
Galatasaray Away
Three days later we were in Turkey. A soft penalty decided it, but the bigger issue was that we never looked like scoring and were physically out-fought.
0-1 Loss, Champions League (away).
Chelsea Away
Back to London the following weekend, and again we never really looked like scoring. Our goal was a bit of a fluke, dropping kindly for Gakpo. We were heading into added time at 1-1 before conceding another late winner, this time to Estevao.
1-2 Loss, Premier League (away).
Manchester United at Anfield
After the international break, optimism briefly returned. That lasted less than two minutes. Virgil wiped out his own teammate, the referee allowed play to continue despite Mac Allister bleeding, and United punished us. After fighting back to 1-1, we immediately conceded from a second ball at a set piece, with Maguire left unmarked. Our most embarrassing defeat of the season given the opponent.
1-2 Loss, Premier League (home).
Brentford Away
Next up was Brentford, a side full of former Liverpool players. We'd battered Frankfurt in midweek, so confidence had flickered back, but we were behind within minutes and 2-0 down before half-time. Kerkez pulled one back, but Virgil then gave away a needless penalty with a lazy leg. Salah's late strike wasn't enough.
2-3 Loss, Premier League (away).
Crystal Palace at Home - Carabao Cup
Then came Palace in the cup, and Slot's decision-making was baffling. Ten changes, no real bench options, and the game drifted away from us. We were absolutely clouted at Anfield, the first time in years. This was the moment many supporters, myself included, began calling for Slot's dismissal. No Liverpool manager should be throwing games.
0-3 Loss, Carabao Cup (home).
Manchester City Away
After beating Villa and Madrid, belief briefly returned, only for City to take us apart. Slot was schooled tactically, and the scoreline flattered us even with the disallowed goal.
0-3 Loss, Premier League (away).
Nottingham Forest at Anfield
Following another international break, we came back to what should have been a favourable run. Instead, we produced the worst performance of the season, comfortably beaten by Forest at Anfield. With our strongest team out, there were no excuses. Forest even had a goal wrongly disallowed, meaning the 0-3 scoreline actually flattered us.
0-3 Loss, Premier League (home).
PSV at Home
Next up were PSV, sitting 23rd in the Champions League rankings. Surely we couldn't lose that. But we did. If Forest was the worst display, this wasn't far behind. We scored, but it meant nothing. PSV were better all over the pitch, and only Szoboszlai came out with any credit.
1-4 Loss, Champions League (home).
The Bottom Line
There you have it - nine defeats laid out clearly. For anyone who needed reminding, this isn't acceptable at any club, let alone Liverpool. The pattern across these matches shows a team slipping further and further away from the standards expected. The defeats didn't just happen; they got progressively worse. If this isn't the line in the sand, then where is it?
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