Liverpool Football Club is enduring its worst run of form in 71 years after a humiliating 4-1 home defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, intensifying pressure on manager Arne Slot and raising serious questions about the team’s future. This loss marks nine defeats in 12 matches, the club’s poorest sequence since the 1953-54 season, and has left players and fans alike grappling with a crisis of confidence at Anfield.
Midfielder Curtis Jones encapsulated the squad’s despair in a post-match interview, stating, ‘I don’t have the answers, honestly, I don’t. It’s just unacceptable. I’m past being angry inside. I’m at the point now where I just don’t have the words.’ His comments reflect a dramatic reversal from the season’s outset, where Liverpool opened with seven consecutive wins and appeared poised for a robust Premier League title defense and deep Champions League run. The current slump includes three consecutive losses by three-goal margins for the first time since December 1953, with seven goals conceded in just five days at their normally formidable home ground.
Manager Arne Slot, who guided Liverpool to the Premier League title in his debut season, now faces mounting scrutiny as his summer signings have largely failed to deliver. Record acquisition Alexander Isak has struggled to make an impact, German playmaker Florian Wirtz remains sidelined with injury, and left-back Milos Kerkez continues to underperform. During the PSV defeat, Slot made only two substitutions despite trailing, further highlighting the tactical challenges and limited options at his disposal. The Dutch manager admitted, ‘This run is a shock for everyone. For the players, for me. I don’t easily shock and it’s very unexpected.’
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock analyzed the situation for BBC Sport, noting, ‘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. There is an apparent lack of fight, which is very hard to see.’ Club legend Steven Gerrard added on TNT Sports that with each defeat, the situation edges closer to a crisis, emphasizing that ‘unless the manager can find answers and stability in his team, then this situation is going to continue.’ Both pundits stopped short of calling for Slot’s immediate dismissal but underscored the urgency for improvement.
Liverpool’s stellar start, which included eight wins in Slot’s first 10 league games—a club record for a new manager—has given way to a troubling pattern of decline. A run of six defeats in seven matches earlier in the season sparked initial concern, though brief respites came with victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid in November. However, setbacks against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest preceded the PSV humiliation, leaving Liverpool 12th in the Premier League and 13th in the Champions League league phase, well below expectations for a club of their stature.
Beyond tactical and performance issues, broader contextual factors contribute to the crisis, including the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota in July. Warnock pointed to this as part of ‘a bigger picture with everything that has gone on around the club,’ suggesting that the emotional toll has compounded on-field struggles. The impact of Jota’s passing, combined with new signings failing to settle and established players underperforming, has created a multifaceted challenge that extends beyond simple fixes or lineup changes.
Looking ahead, Liverpool faces a critical period with a Premier League trip to West Ham on Sunday, followed by challenging Champions League fixtures against Inter Milan and Marseille. Slot remains publicly focused on turning things around, stating, ‘I need to do better, that’s what I’m trying to do every single day to improve the team.’ However, the path to recovery appears daunting, with morale at a low ebb and no straightforward solutions in sight. Warnock emphasized that ‘every single Liverpool player needs to go back to basics’ and that ‘there are no easy games for them’ in the current climate.
The club’s hierarchy, historically patient with managers, must now weigh whether to support Slot through this turmoil or consider a change in leadership. As the season risks becoming forgettable, the search for answers intensifies, with fans desperate for a return to the form that once made Anfield a fortress. The coming matches will be crucial in determining whether Liverpool can arrest this historic slide or if deeper structural changes are needed to restore their competitive edge.
