Following a defeat to rival Manchester United on Sunday, Liverpool manager Arne Slot is facing the most difficult moment of his tenure at the Merseyside club, and one of the most difficult challenges of his coaching career to date.
The game was Liverpool’s fourth defeat in a row, having lost to Crystal Palace and Chelsea in its previous Premier League matches on top of a defeat to Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League.
Until this month, Slot had never lost three games in a row in his managerial career, and Liverpool had not lost three consecutive games since April 2023. Liverpool had not lost four games in a row since November 2014.
Such a losing streak for a team that won the Premier League last season, having only lost four league games all season, naturally leads to many questions being asked. Those include concerns around the numerous new big-money signings made this summer.
Uncharacteristic Spending Spree
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Richard Hughes, sporting director and Michael Edwards, chief executive of football at Liverpool during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on October 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
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It was an unusual summer for Liverpool’s owner Fenway Sports Group, which is usually known for more restrained activity in the transfer market than it demonstrated during the most recent transfer window.
Even though FSG is not averse to spending big when needed, the number of players coming into the first team this summer, and the total transfer outlay of well over $500 million, was unprecedented.
In previous seasons under FSG, Liverpool has tended to introduce only a few new players to the first XI each year. When it won the league in Slot’s debut campaign last season, the club only bought one player, Federico Chiesa, who barely featured in the league.
Adding so many new players in one go, as it has this season, and players who would be expecting to start games at that, always had the potential to produce an extended bedding-in period.
However, the transfer fees paid for so many quality players suggest each should be good enough to fit in straight away, and the players themselves might expect to start regularly, too. But in soccer, the biggest money signings can often fail to live up to their price tag. It brings added pressure to perform from the off.
Previously, Liverpool would give players weeks or even months to get used to the manager’s methods and their new teammates, but there was no such period in this instance.
Hugo Ekitike or Alexander Isak
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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The new signing who appears to have settled quickest at Liverpool this season is striker Hugo Ekitike, but since the arrival and return to match fitness of Alexander Isak, the Frenchman has found himself on the bench.
The problem for Slot in this regard is that he has a new high-profile striker, Isak, for whom the club broke its transfer record, and as a result, will expect to start games, but another striker for who also cost the club a considerable albeit lower amount who is currently in better form.
Of the players who might be deemed undroppable—Isak due to the fee paid, Mohamed Salah due to his new contract and past brilliance, captain Virgil van Dijk, and goalkeeper Alisson—only Van Dijk is available and performing to his expected level, and even he was criticised in some quarters after the Man United defeat. Alisson is injured, and neither Salah nor Isak are in their groove.
The one player who is in a groove is Ektike, but getting him in the XI would mean either dropping Isak or reshuffling the system once again.
The run of poor results leaves Slot stuck in limbo between the system that won the league title last season and the new-look Liverpool that fits in the new players.
It also leaves him with the conundrum of whether to leave out Isak and replace him with the more in-form Ekitike, or keep Isak in and give him time to find his form through more constant minutes on the field.
Sticking with the Originals
Liverpool's Dutch striker Cody Gakpo (L) celebrates with Liverpool's Scottish defender Andrew Robertson (R) after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on March 5, 2023. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
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Despite numerous departures from the club ahead of the new season, if he wanted to, Slot could still pick ten outfield players who appeared for the club in 2024/25. Were Alisson not out injured, he could pick an entire XI.
The Liverpool manager could feasibly start the next game with an outfield lineup of: Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Chiesa; all of whom were at the club last year.
Strangely, one of the most impactful players this season has been the sole new signing from the summer of 2024, who was barely used by Slot during the title-winning campaign–Chiesa.
The Italian has numerous goal contributions off the bench in the Premier League this season, and made two assists in the game he started in the EFL Cup against Southampton. There are now calls for him to start matches more regularly.
Despite all the new arrivals, the more obvious selections for a Liverpool best XI at this moment in time include players the club might have expected to be backups. Those obvious selections might also mean making some unpopular decisions to drop those who might have usually be considered guaranteed starters.
As soon as a team stops winning, or worse, keeps losing, what might previously have been considered squad rotation turns into a scramble to find the best combination of players in order to find a win. Slot needs to find that combination soon if Liverpool is to have a chance of retaining its Premier League title.