The defending champions have experienced a shocking reversal of form, seeing their season collapse from a promising start into a full-blown crisis under manager Arne Slot
Virgil van Dijk and teammates of Liverpool look dejected following defeat in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Anfield on November 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England.
Liverpool have had a shocking start to the 2025/26 season(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
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Every damning moment from Liverpool's 2025/26 season
Plummeting League Position: After briefly leading the table at the end of September, the team has dramatically dropped to 11th place. This leaves them a significant 11 points adrift of the league leaders just before December, an almost insurmountable gap for a title defence.
Shock Home Defeat to Nottingham Forest: A damaging 3-0 loss at Anfield to then-19th-placed Nottingham Forest highlighted the team's ongoing vulnerabilities, marking their second consecutive 3-0 defeat in the Premier League. This result was symptomatic of their problems across all areas of the pitch and pushed them into the bottom half of the table.
The Crystal Palace Catalyst: A 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in late September is widely considered the beginning of Liverpool's unprecedented downturn. This loss triggered a dreadful run of form, with the team managing only three points from their next seven league matches.
Failure of Record-Breaking Summer Signings: Despite spending over £400 million on new players like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, the team looks disjointed. The new signings have largely failed to make a positive impact, compounding the tactical and personnel issues facing the squad.
Defensive and Set-Piece Collapse: The team's once-stout defence has become alarmingly fragile, repeatedly exposed by counter-attacks and vulnerable to set-pieces. This inability to keep the ball out of their net has seen them concede six set-piece goals early on and makes them look like a shadow of the team that dominated the league last season.
Sustained Losing Run: Liverpool suffered an exceptionally poor streak, losing four straight Premier League games at one point, which followed an initial run of five victories. Compounded by a string of defeats in cup competitions, this run has placed immense pressure on the manager and the playing staff.
Back-to-back league losses by three-goal margin: Losing 3-0 to both Manchester City and Nottingham Forest marked the first time since April 1965 under Bill Shankly that Liverpool had suffered two consecutive league defeats by a margin of three or more goals.
First manager to oversee five consecutive Premier League defeats (72-year club record): Though this specific streak was intermittently broken by a Champions League win, Arne Slot became the first Liverpool manager since Don Welsh in September 1953 to oversee five consecutive defeats in all domestic competitions.
Worst ever start for a British transfer record signing (club record - over 100 years): Alexander Isak, the club's new record signing, became the first player to lose his first four Premier League starts for Liverpool in over a century, matching a record set by Percy Saul in 1906.