Arne Slot may be thankful for another international break after Liverpool slumped to a heavy defeat at Manchester City.
The 3-0 loss goes down as the biggest Premier League margin of defeat for the Reds since the Dutchman took over from Jurgen Klopp in 2024.
Things had been looking up for Slot and Liverpool following back-to-back wins against Aston Villa and Real Madrid. However, Sunday’s defeat sends him back to the drawing board.
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Slot now has two whole weeks in which to figure out where Liverpool’s problems lie, and fans will be watching his movements over the next fortnight with very keen eyes.
The Liverpool head coach caused a stir in October when he decided to jet off on a family holiday to Dubai instead of staying on Merseyside.
The Reds were coming off the back of three successive defeats one month ago, and Slot’s decision to leave with his team in such poor form was rightly put under the microscope. With Liverpool sitting in eighth place in the Premier League table, he cannot do the same again.
Liverpool Manager Arne Slot after the 3-0 loss during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Arne Slot must stay in Liverpool this November
The life of a Premier League manager is incredibly intense, and no one should be questioning Slot’s right to spend time off with his family.
The Dutchman has spoken openly about the fact that his wife and two children have stayed in the Netherlands since his arrival at Liverpool, and the international break gives him a chance to see them. He has a right to take that.
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Nevertheless, it is inescapable that leaving for Dubai in October was an incredibly bad look for Slot. It was one which did not go unnoticed.
Much was also made of the 47-year-old’s decision to spend part of the end of last season in Ibiza, following Liverpool’s crowning as Premier League champions.
While fans chuckled at seeing their manager partying while the rest of the division scrambled for points, they are now wondering whether Slot is quite as dedicated to the job as he perhaps should be.
Should the former Feyenoord boss head off again during the November break, unrest may start to grow within the fanbase. Slot must stay in Liverpool and work on how to get more out of his team.
Slot may cost himself the Liverpool job
Slot has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is in the game, and it is clear that his more relaxed approach to things has paid off in the past.
However, he is now in the most challenging period of his managerial career, and must buckle down and work around the clock to put things right.
Klopp was known to be an obsessive worker during his time at Anfield, and the thought of the former Liverpool manager leaving for a holiday during an international break is frankly ludicrous. It just would not happen.
Part of Slot’s charm over the past year-and-a-bit is that his personality is so far removed from Klopp’s as to be almost totally opposite.
However, the Dutchman could really learn something from his predecessor in this respect. The international break is for working with staff and those players not on duty to formulate tactical ideas and plans.
If Slot continues to see it as a time for a family holiday instead, and results fail to improve, his popularity amongst the fanbase will plummet and that could ultimately cost him his job. Do the right thing, Arne.