A reputable Liverpool journalist claimed that the club is about to “fall into a death spiral” and raised the possibility of manager Arne Slot losing his job, as the Dutchman still looks powerless to make an impact in any positive change.
The stats from Liverpool’s title defence are frightening, starting with six defeats from their opening 12 games. On closer inspection, the Reds have conceded nine goals from set-pieces, and their record of 20 goals conceded is the club’s worst overall after 12 games in their Premier League history.
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Only Hugo Ekitike from Liverpool’s wide range of summer signings has looked reasonably competent so far. However, because Alexander Isak also arrived for £125 million, Slot is hesitant to choose Ekitike over the weakened Swede when both are available.
It’s one of many signs that Slot is in deep water at Anfield, with his bizarre approach to second-half substitutions being another warning sign that has been picked up. And according to The Athletic’s Liverpool expert, James Pearce, Slot oversees what can only be called a “mess”.
Pearce went through the many issues affecting Liverpool right now, and most of them are Slot’s responsibility to solve.
A lot of emphasis was placed on the fact that Liverpool spent over £450 million on new signings during the summer. Slot can’t find the answers on how to bring out the best in them, while also being unable to prevent the notable declines in the form of the established stars already in place.
Pearce wrote: “The toxic mix of established stars losing direction and new players struggling to adapt has sent the club into a crisis.
The same problems appear week after week, and faith takes a real hit. Slot has so far been unable to find the answers to the pile of problems he faces.”
Slot surrendered perhaps the club’s best chance of silverware this season when he picked a head-shaking starting eleven to face Crystal Palace in the League Cup back in late October. As expected, Liverpool were beaten 3-0 that night.
It needed to be done with one eye on saving Liverpool’s league campaign. Since the defeat to Palace, Liverpool have lost two out of three in the league, including suffering consecutive 3-0 defeats.
The Reds have virtually no chance of winning the FA Cup if they draw either Arsenal or Manchester City. Those hoping for a respite in the Champions League will also be out of luck as soon as Liverpool draw a big club in the knockout rounds.
Realistically, a successful season from here for the Reds would be to snatch fourth place and scrape their way into next year’s Champions League by a narrow margin. The damage to their campaign has already been inflicted, and all the signs suggest that there will be more humiliations before the results eventually start to improve.
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That is, of course, unless Liverpool bite the bullet and make a change on the coaching bench.
Pearce touched on the question of whether Liverpool have any intention of sacking Slot, while also pointing out that Liverpool’s spectators seem to be losing faith in the manager. When the paying fans turn around, there is rarely a way back for a hard-pressed manager.
Anfield looked like a library after Murillo opened the scoring for Forest on Saturday. There was a clear feeling among those present that Slot does not have the ability to maneuver his way back into games when the Reds fall behind.
In fact, Liverpool have not taken a single point from losing positions this season.
Pearce added: “You could feel it on the pitch from the moment Murillo punished some sloppy defending to put Nottingham Forest in the lead in the 33rd minute on Saturday. Instead of mobilizing, Liverpool broke down and accepted the humiliation.
You could also feel it in the stands, with a terribly flat atmosphere before the fans headed for the exits in large numbers after Morgan Gibbs-White made it 3-0 with 12 minutes of the 90 to play.
There was no open dissatisfaction directed at Arne Slot. The Dutch head coach still has enough credit in the bank after last year’s Premier League title that there are no serious demands for change after a poor run of six league defeats in seven games.
But the general mood of restlessness yesterday served as a warning that there is no such thing as an unlimited amount of patience. Time is ticking as he struggles to right what has gone so alarmingly wrong.”
Liverpool face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday. As we saw in the victories over Frankfurt and Real Madrid, European teams don’t seem to learn from the games Liverpool’s domestic opponents give them every week.
A win over Eindhoven would surprise no one, nor would it come as a surprise to see Liverpool go back to losing four days later to West Ham.
Under Nuno Espirito Santo, West Ham will be dangerous from dead balls, countering with speed through Jarrod Bowen and defending in a low block.
In other words, they will give Liverpool another league defeat if Slot continues to prove that he can’t handle the simple but effective style of play.
In other news, and as talk of Arne Slot showing the door at Liverpool intensifies, the bookmakers have installed a spectacular replacement as the favourite to take over for the Dutchman.
Elsewhere, Virgil van Dijk didn’t hold back as he delivered a sharp assessment of his team’s embarrassing loss to Forest, while Slot answered questions about what fans perceived as a major selection error.
In the end, Trent Alexander-Arnold regrets turning down a new contract from Liverpool and staying at Anfield.
