There is no getting away from it – Liverpool are in a full-blown crisis, writes Lindiz van Zilla.
Nine defeats in 12 matches. The defending Premier League champions are sitting in 12th place – behind even Manchester United on goal difference – and a massive 11 points off pacesetters Arsenal after only 12 games of the season.
So where has it all gone wrong for Arne Slot and his Liverpool team…
TRANSFER MAGIC GONE
It is very hard to look past £450 million of new signings who have spectacularly failed to deliver.
There was a time when Liverpool was the envy of every team in the English Premier League and Europe for their astute signings. Even when they spent big on the likes of goalkeeper Alisson Becker (£56m) and captain Virgil van Dijk (75m), they turned out to be bargains, going on to become key pillars of the Reds’ success in recent years.
Add in Mo Salah for £34m, Fabinho (35m), Thiago Alcantara (20m), Sadio Mané (30m), Roberto Firmino (£29), Luis Diaz (35m), Andy Robertson (8m) and Joel Matip on a free, and Liverpool were ruling the transfer roost.
Yes, there were some expensive flops, most notably Darwin Nunez (64m) and Naby Keïta (52m), but generally Liverpool got it right in the transfer market.
Liverpool cantered to the league title last season and on the back of splashing a Premier League record £446 million in a single transfer window, the expectation was very much more of the same – with a Champions League title tilt thrown in.
Alexander Isak (125m) and Florian Wirtz (100m) are the headline signings and neither have come anywhere close to delivering for the Anfield outfit. Isak, after a protracted transfer from Newcastle, still looks miles off the pace in terms of fitness and sharpness. Wirtz, in contrast, looks a proper footballer with an exquisite touch and playmaking ability, but one who seems ill-equipped for the physical demands and intensity of the Premier League.
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It is still early days and they may well come good, but £225m excluding add-ons and not a single league goal or assist between them is a poor return.
Liverpool also finally broke up the enduring flying full-back partnership of Robertson and academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold and brought in Milos Kerkez (40m) and Jeremie Frimpong (29.5). Suffice to say, it has been an absolute disaster (Read more under defensive shambles).
Striker Hugo Ekitike, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for 69m, looked the part initially, scoring goals for fun. But a needless red card for taking his shirt off in that cup tie against the Saints coincided with the integration of Isak and Liverpool’s form tailing away dramatically. Ekitike looks a completely different player; and not in the positive sense.
HORROR SHOW AT THE BACK
Even when Liverpool struggled for goals, they could always count on their world-class defence, led by captain and defensive lynchpin VVD. That Liverpool rearguard used to read: Alisson, Robertson, VVD + 1 and TAA.
Now, every week brings a new masterclass in how not to defend. Alisson has been injury-prone in recent seasons the gigantic Giorgi Mamardashvili, bought for 25m from Valencia, has come nowhere close to filling the Brazilian’s gloves. How Liverpool must rue allowing brilliant back-up Caoimhin Kelleher to leave for Brentford.
Van Dijk’s peerless form has dropped off a cliff and in turn horribly exposed Ibrahima Konate. The failure to sign Crystal Palace and England centre back Marc Guéhi on deadline day has come back to haunt the Reds big time.
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New full-backs Kerkez and Frimpong have been like deer caught in the headlights under the intense Anfield glare. Old man Robertson is back at left back in place of the desperately poor Kerkez. Injury to Frimpong has seen Liverpool manager Arne Slot turn to Conor Bradley, Curtis Jones, and also shoehorn all-action midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai in at right back – a decision that causes endless consternation for Reds fans. Szoboszlai is the one player who comes out of the crisis of form with any sort of credit.
Want to know how bad it is? Nine defeats in 12 matches. Ten goals conceded in three games against Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven, the latter two disasters at Anfield. Liverpool are shipping goals for fun.
The worst part about it is this has been coming for a while. In 2025, in 49 games across all competitions, the Reds have conceded a scarcely believable 66 goals. And it seems to be getting worse with each passing week and Liverpool and Slot appear powerless to stop the bleeding.
SALAH GOODBYE
No one epitomises the drop-off in form of the old guard quite like Liverpool’s Egyptian King. Once the spearhead of the most feared front three in Europe, alongside Mané and Roberto Firminho, Salah is last man standing. Who can forget that Liverpool ditty featuring the three of them?
Last season his 29 goals and 18 assists drove Liverpool to title glory. But this season his output has dropped dramatically (three goals and two assists in the league) with no Alexander-Arnold behind. But more than that, his failure to track back has horribly exposed Liverpool’s right flank. Opposition teams have identified this and are exploiting it ruthlessly. It may be time for Slot to make a call on an all-time Liverpool great if he is to get the train back on track.
SLOT TIME
A season is a very long time in football, especially in the competitive maelstrom that is the Premier League. Earlier this year Slot was the embodiment of serenity as his Liverpool side coasted to the league title without so much as a misfire. It was brilliant and a seamless transition from the Jurgen Klopp era.
Add in a plethora of expensive signings, and pundits and Liverpool fans – and most opposition supporters – did not look beyond the Merseyside giants as title winners again.
However, the wheels have come off in spectacular fashion and even though Slot maintains a good poker face in public, he admits he has been having sleepless nights as the turmoil from his side’s alarming drop-off in form eats him up inside.
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Does he have what it takes to fix things? That is the big question right now. Many Liverpool supporters now question his ability as a top manager and the dirty accusation that it was Klopp’s team that cantered to the title last season begins to ring more true with each dispiriting loss.
Slot says he has the full backing of Liverpool’s owners and that may well be so. But for how long? If their form doesn’t improve between now and the new year, then the club may be forced to make a hard decision. It goes against everything Liverpool FC stands for, but will they have much choice?
Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
