Arne Slot is enduring his toughest period as Liverpool manager, with the club losing six of their last seven matches across all competitions - and one Premier League legend has analysed his situation
Arne Slot looks on
Arne Slot has struggled this season(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
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Arne Slot has been warned that Liverpool players have broken a golden piece of advice in never losing a second game off the trot. The Dutchman excelled in his first season at Anfield, scooping the Premier League title last term.
However, 2025/26 has proven a far different state of affairs. At the time of writing, the Reds languish at seventh in the league standings as a result of suffering four consecutive losses at the hands of Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford.
The outlook in cup competitions, meanwhile, is also bleak - with Liverpool being ousted from the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening in a 3-0 thrashing from Palace at Anfield. Many pundits backed Liverpool to have the strongest team overall this term, especially after a summer of spending on Merseyside which saw the arrival of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
But for one reason or another, Liverpool are failing to provide on the pitch as of recent, with injuries and inconsistency plaguing Slot's camp. And as per Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn, the squad now may be doubting themselves in a time they need to pull together to bounce back.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football via Casino.org, Winterburn said: "I think you'll find managers have got a belief in what they do, the way they want to play. We've seen that with [Ruben] Amorim at Man United. Slot's come off the back of winning a title with Liverpool, so, I think people would say he deserves a lot of credit.
"I don't know. They brought some players in and you would think should really, really strengthen the team. But it's as open, I think, as I've seen Liverpool for a long, long time.
"They look like they can concede goals, which I always think of Liverpool as quick, fast attacking, but fairly secure defensively, and they just seem to be way too open at the back now. I don't know whether that's a slight change in style of play.
Nigel Winterburn speaks to a referee
Nigel Winterburn has spoken about Liverpool's flaws
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"Obviously, [Andy] Robertson's come out of the team and then also Trent Alexander-Arnold has moved on, and then they've brought in a couple of other players. It just feels as if things are not clicking and there's a little bit of nervousness now around. Shouldn't need me to tell you when players lose confidence, it disappears pretty quickly and it's hard to get back."
Winterburn also pointed out that Liverpool have failed to adhere to a golden rule that he would always give to players and teams.
He added: "That's why I always say to people, 'It's never okay to lose a game, but everybody loses a game. But what you don't want to do is lose a second game, and then the third game and then the fourth game,' because that drains the confidence of the players, as good as they are."
Discussing the concern within the camp, Winterburn said: "It doesn't matter if they're internationals, we're all the same. When we start to lose games, we start to doubt what we're doing. And when that happens, there's no freedom.
"The pressure and the decision making becomes a little bit blurry, and I think that's where Liverpool are at the moment. They've got a huge two or three weeks coming up. Maybe he doesn't want to change, he just needs to make sure the sections are more secure, particularly when they lose possession of the ball defensively.
Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Hugo Ekitike stand together
Nigel Winterburn believes Liverpool look loose at the back
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"Maybe they're not as organised, or they don't recover as quick as they did last season. I'm sure their statto guys and we'll be looking at everything.
"But just to somebody that's watching the game, I think at times they look to me as if you can get at the back four and it doesn't matter how good your back four is, if you've got no protection in front of it, movement can absolutely destroy you."
Liverpool now have the tough task of Aston Villa at home come Saturday evening in the league, before they host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
They then return to Premier League action on Sunday, November 9, to take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
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