LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 29: Liverpool Manager Arne Slot during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on October 29, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
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Liverpool’s form has collapsed. The Reds’ current run of six defeats in seven games means they have the worst record of any team in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues over the same timeframe. Having started the season with five straight Premier League wins, the defending champions are in complete freefall.
Some have started pointing the finger at Arne Slot. While the Dutchman led Liverpool to the Premier League title in his first season in charge after arriving as Jurgen Klopp’s successor, he is now under pressure to stop the current slide of a team that increasingly looks to be fresh out of ideas, confidence and hope.
BURNLEY, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Merchandise scarves featuring Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool been sold at a stall ahead of the Premier League match between Burnley and Liverpool at Turf Moor on September 14, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
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Over $500m was spent on new signings by Liverpool in the summer transfer window. The Anfield club made two marquee additions in particular, adding Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz to a squad that was already among the strongest in English and European soccer. Many predicted Liverpool would stroll another Premier League campaign.
Instead, Liverpool’s balance has been disrupted. Slot’s team is struggling to apply pressure high up the pitch, possibly due to the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich. The Colombian was always Liverpool’s best presser. The Merseyside outfit is missing Diaz in the lineup this season.
This has led to the fragmentation of the midfield unit in multiple matches. Wirtz has struggled to find a clear role in the number 10 position, placing more responsibility on Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister to cover ground and prevent opponents from getting through the centre of the pitch.
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – OCTOBER 22: Liverpool Head Coach Arne Slot gestures during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool FC at Frankfurt Stadion on October 22, 2025 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Sathire Kelpa/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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At the back, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk have lost any sort of understanding they built up last season. It hasn’t helped Liverpool that it replaced both starting full backs over the summer, unsettling a backline that gave Slot a solid foundation to his team not so long ago.
“There are many reasons why we’ve lost six out of seven, none of them are good enough to accept losing so many,” said Klopp after Liverpool’s latest loss. “Liverpool losing that many is always too much. Our performance against Brentford, two days after we played Frankfurt away, I saw a team that struggled with playing three games in seven days.”
Slot’s decision to rotate his team for the Carabao Cup loss to Crystal Palace might have made sense in the short-term, but not so much when considering the malaise that has taken hold of Liverpool. This is a team in need of some positive momentum. Slot is under serious pressure to find it.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/grahamruthven/2025/10/30/how-much-pressure-is-arne-slot-under-as-liverpool-manager/
