In the 5th round of the Champions League group stage, Liverpool 1-4 PSV Eindhoven at Anfield.
Enough! Truly enough! As Liverpool players trudged off the Anfield turf after a humiliating second-half collapse, the sparse home crowd in the stands said it all.
Though scattered boos echoed at the final whistle, there was no large-scale protest from the fans. The applause for the shattered squad was little more than a perfunctory gesture. Yet everyone who witnessed this tragedy knew: Liverpool manager Arne Slot is standing on the brink of dismissal.
When the Kop sang You’ll Never Walk Alone as routine in the 90th minute, the half-hearted rendition carried more sincerity than Liverpool’s second-half performance. On this disastrous night, the Reds lacked not only belief, confidence, organization and quality, but more alarmingly—with a few exceptions—even the most basic fighting spirit and tenacity had vanished. The entire team seemed to surrender without resistance, giving up far too easily.
The Champions League was supposed to be a haven amid the brutal Premier League campaign, but another collapse at Anfield—PSV Eindhoven’s 4-1 away victory—could trigger a chain reaction from the dressing room to the boardroom. With 9 defeats in their last 12 games, if October was a nightmare for Slot’s team, November has been an unmitigated disaster. The previous wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid were no more than mirages for a team mired in crisis. A winter of discontent has fully descended, and the title triumph of last summer feels like a distant memory for a side that has conceded 10 goals in their last three matches (two at home). These players are not unwilling to play for their manager, nor do they lack effort to turn things around, but confidence has plummeted, belief has faded, and resilience has been exhausted.
Conceding a penalty early was enough to drain Slot’s team of morale—Virgil van Dijk inexplicably handled the ball in a corner, and Ivan Perišić converted with ease. Though Dominik Szoboszlai equalized 10 minutes later by following up Cody Gakpo’s shot, a fragile defense allowed PSV to enter halftime with a draw without breaking a sweat.
Away defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Galatasaray were understandable; a home loss to Manchester United was forgivable; even a defeat at Brentford was not the end of the world; and a trip to the Etihad to lose to Manchester City was expected.
But under no circumstances should Slot have fielded a second-string squad to surrender to Crystal Palace in the League Cup at home, should not have been shut out 3-0 by Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest at Anfield, and certainly should not have been humiliated so meekly by PSV on home soil—to be blunt, this team is not even close to qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages this season.
This defeat, which equaled the club’s worst home European loss, was the Reds’ 9th defeat in 12 games in all competitions, and almost every loss was deserved. A team that celebrated winning the Premier League just six months ago now has only distant memories. That title-winning side has long disappeared, and the team that replaced it is far from worthy—not even close.
Some might have thought this game would have little impact on Slot’s future, given the upcoming Premier League fixtures against West Ham, Sunderland and Leeds United. But such a catastrophic performance makes it impossible to avoid reality. Admittedly, Slot has faced numerous difficulties this season, some of which even experienced coaches would struggle to navigate. But the current team seems neither willing to fight for their manager nor for each other.
For his own sake, the Liverpool manager must now either show determination for change or present a brand-new tactical plan. Maintaining the status quo will only cause unnecessary self-harm. He needs a response from the team, needs to see the dressing room unite with him, and most importantly—he must win. There is no room for maneuver, no more leniency.
Since the defeat to Crystal Palace at the end of September, the season has been falling apart before Slot’s eyes. Where is the way forward for Anfield? Where can the bright side be found? Slot may have just one more week to save his job, but Anfield’s patience has reached its limit.
