Liverpool will soon welcome some of the world’s best teams to Anfield
Liverpool will need to kick into gear with fixtures against Manchester City and Real Madrid on the horizon for the struggling heavyweights. The reigning Premier League champions have dropped to a stunning seventh after suffering four defeats on the trot.
After what was a perfect start to the season with five league victories in five, the wheels fell off for Arne Slot’s side, who’ve gone on the club’s worst league run in 11 years. Defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford have shone the light on the Dutchman as he’s so far failed to get the chemistry of his side right after a summer where he spent £450million on new players.
The likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have yet to showcase why they cost the Reds over £225m while Mohamed Salah has had his worst start to a league season since joining Liverpool.
Mirror Football delves into the latest news from Anfield where Slot’s take on Arsenal has been criticised while Liverpool’s post-match reaction to the Brentford loss has been revealed.
Arne Slot slammed
It’s been a difficult sophomore season for Slot who has come under unprecedented pressure during Liverpool’s horror run of four straight league defeats. It was only a few weeks ago that his side held a five-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League – a lead that was swiftly decimated.
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It’s the Gunners who are now four points ahead of the rest of the pack while positioned seven points better than the Reds after nine fixtures. With 37 goals scored from set-pieces since the start of the 2023/24 season, Mikel Arteta’s side are far and away the most potent team in that respect.
Conceding from set-pieces has been an aspect of Liverpool’s undoing this season. Earlier this month Slot suggested the Gunners’ set-piece prowess hadn’t done much to separate themselves from the reigning league champions.
Speaking when Liverpool were just a point behind Arsenal, the Dutchman said: “If you’d tell me that we’ve conceded 40 per cent of our goals from set pieces, and the number one in the league has scored 60% of their goals from set-pieces, and we’re still one point behind that team, I would probably think, ‘It’s not even that bad!'”
His comments didn’t sit too well with ex-Arsenal man Anders Limpars who called Slot’s words “diabolical”. “It’s just excuses, he can’t say that as an opposition manager,” Limpars told Hajper.
“It doesn’t really matter how you win games so long as you win games. Over the long run, you have to play all the best teams. To be criticised for scoring from set pieces or not, it’s a diabolical thing to talk about in my opinion.
“Shall we look back at the last four years and look at what City have done or not have done, or what Liverpool have done or not have done? At the end of the day, they’ve all had scrappy wins for sure here and there.
“Arne Slot has to cope with losing the last four league games on the trot. It’s not normal for them. Now suddenly they are having these setbacks and you have to cope with that as a manager, especially at a top club in the Premier League. It’s normal business. I hate players who have excuses. I don’t like managers having excuses.”
Worrying dressing room reaction
Morale would undoubtedly be at a low after four losses in a row but it was Federico Chiesa’s revelation following the 3-2 defeat at Brentford that illustrated just how dire the mood is at Liverpool.
The Italian forward admitted that nobody spoke in the dressing room after being condemned to yet another defeat in the league they decisively won just six months prior. The 29-year-old said: “No one was speaking.
“Because afterwards everyone knows. Sometimes you don’t have to speak about the situation. You know what’s going on. So no one spoke because I think we have to think about what we can do better. Usually when we are in this situation the first thing that comes to your mind is to give more, train harder.
“It was good that after the game we didn’t talk because it’s a sign that everyone wants to change. Everyone wants to change the situation.” Chiesa did reveal that the team began to discuss their losing streak and frankly admitted everyone must work harder to put an end to the alarming run.
“Of course, after we went to the bus and we started to talk about the situation, the first thing is that we don’t have to blame anything or anyone.”
“We’re not winning, and there could be many reasons for that, but we have to bounce back. Personally, I don’t care if it’s this (reason) or that which is causing us not to win. For me, the most important thing is to work harder.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
