With seven straight wins at the start of the season, Liverpool looked set to mount a solid Premier League title defence and make a deep Champions League run. Instead, they are enduring their worst spell in 71 years after a humiliating 4-1 defeat by PSV at Anfield.
The Reds have lost nine of 12 matches for the first time since 1953-54, suffered three successive defeats by three-goal margins for the first time since December 1953, and conceded seven goals in five days at their normally formidable home. “I don’t have the answers, honestly, I don’t. It’s just unacceptable,” midfielder Curtis Jones told RTE. “I’m past being angry inside. I’m at the point now where I just don’t have the words.”
Statistics that once looked academic are now starkly relevant for supporters who watched Slot guide Liverpool to the Premier League title in his debut season. The Dutch manager faces growing scrutiny as he searches for a way out of a serious slump. Former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock told BBC Sport: “At the moment things are not clicking and it all feels very difficult. The defeats are just adding up at the moment, and compounding things so they get worse and worse. Is it down to over-confidence? I actually don’t know why, and it is very strange. But there is an apparent lack of fight, which is very hard to see.”
Liverpool’s excellent early form was followed by six defeats in seven games that sparked talk of a crisis. A brief lift came in November with wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, but those results proved temporary. A 3-0 loss to Manchester City before the international break was explainable against Pep Guardiola’s side; an identical defeat to Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest left Liverpool 12th in the Premier League and was then compounded by the PSV embarrassment — only their second home loss in 26 pre-knockout Champions League matches.
Slot now faces a huge task to steady the side, climb the Premier League table and salvage a top-eight spot in the Champions League group phase, with Liverpool having slipped to 13th in the group. Warnock urged caution on any rush to judgement: “I don’t think there should be a knee-jerk reaction, I think this is a very tough moment at Liverpool for one reason or another, but the one thing I’d say is that things weren’t right at the start of the season either, when they were winning.”
Liverpool have not been quick to sack managers at the first sign of trouble, and Slot’s early achievements — including the best start by a Reds boss in the top flight since he replaced Jurgen Klopp — remain in the club’s recent memory. Yet several summer signings have failed to make the expected impact. Record signing Alexander Isak is still searching for his first goal for the club, Florian Wirtz is sidelined with injury and left-back Milos Kerkez has struggled. Against PSV, Slot made only two substitutions while trailing, bringing on Isak for Hugo Ekitike — who appeared injured — and Federico Chiesa for Ibrahima Konaté during another difficult night for the French defender.
“This run is a shock for everyone,” Slot admitted. “For the players, for me. I don’t easily shock and it’s very unexpected. We can all do better individually, but that goes for everyone including myself.”
One positive was Dominik Szoboszlai, restored to a central midfield role against PSV. He produced a goal, injected energy and provided an attacking spark, underlining that his best contributions may be in midfield rather than out wide. Former captain Steven Gerrard told TNT Sports: “With each defeat it gets closer to being a crisis. I don’t think Liverpool are at that [yet] — crisis is too strong. There are no excuses for a performance like that at this football club. You cannot deny the team is struggling massively, they are on a terrible run, their confidence is at an all-time low, they are wide open. Unless the manager can find answers and stability in his team, then this situation is going to continue.”
PSV was always a challenging opponent for Slot; he has managed just one win in eight meetings with the Dutch side (D3 L4) and has lost to them more than any other club. Slot insists he is focused on fixing problems rather than on his own job security: “I need to do better, that’s what I’m trying to do every single day to improve the team and that is where my main focus is.”
In the Champions League Liverpool had been performing well with three wins from four, but the loss to PSV leaves them a point off the top eight and facing difficult fixtures against Inter Milan and an away trip to Marseille. The next match is a Premier League trip to West Ham on Sunday. Warnock said: “Every single Liverpool player at the moment needs to go back to basics, because every single player is having a tough time at the moment and needs to improve. Morale needs lifting but it is very difficult to lift it. There are no easy games for them.”
Issues that were present despite the season’s promising start remain: new signings who have struggled to settle, and players who impressed last year not producing the same levels. The departure of Diogo Jota in July has also been a factor in the changing dynamics around the squad. Warnock concluded: “There’s a massive difference from last year in what is going on. However, it is a results-driven industry and at the moment Liverpool are losing games very heavily and the signs aren’t that they are changing — there aren’t improvements. But, what do you put that down to? Is it down to the manager? Is it down to what has happened with Jota? I think this is a very difficult situation for the club to try to look at, because of everything that surrounds it.”
Fans want answers quickly, but exactly what the solution will be — and how fast it can stop a season slipping away — remains unclear.
