Troubled Liverpool’s miserable season spiralled further into turmoil as PSV Eindhoven swept to a stunning 4-1 win at Anfield in the Champions League.
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Arne Slot’s side trailed to Ivan Perisic’s early penalty and Dominik Szoboszlai’s equaliser did nothing to galvanise the Reds.
Second-half goals from Guus Til and Couhaib Driouech, who netted twice, condemned the woeful Premier League champions to a ninth defeat in their last 12 matches in all competitions.
It is Liverpool’s worst run since 1953-54 as pressure mounts on the beleaguered Slot, with jeers from angry fans greeting the final whistle.
Beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield last weekend, Liverpool have lost three successive games, conceding 10 goals in the process.
But this one was even worse, with former Tottenham captain Michael Dawson calling it an “absolute nightmare” for Liverpool and Slot.
“That was 100 per cent worse than the Forest result. They probably didn’t give PSV enough respect. I expected Liverpool to show up tonight and show a reaction,” Michael Dawson said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Special.
“Nine defeats in 12 games. That is disastrous. That is a team lacking any self-belief. There was only one team out there in the second half. When PSV got their noses in front, they were absolutely dominant.
“The fans are leaving and Arne Slot is in disbelief. It’s dark, dark times for Liverpool.”
The Reds, losers in six of their last seven Premier League matches, were expected to dominate on all fronts this term after following last season’s title triumph with a summer spending spree.
But Liverpool head to West Ham languishing in 12th place in the Premier League -- the first time in more than a decade they have been in the bottom half of the table.
It was a bad loss for Liverpool. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
It was a bad loss for Liverpool. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
With their title hopes in tatters, Liverpool can’t be certain of reaching the Champions League last 16 either after a second defeat in five games in the tournament.
It was their first home defeat in the opening phase of the Champions League in five years.
The Reds are in 13th place in the league phase, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the last 16.
Slot admitted on Wednesday that he feels “guilty” over Liverpool’s “ridiculous” slump.
But the Dutchman appears to have no answers to Liverpool’s crisis and the sight of empty red seats all around the stadium in the closing stages provided a damning verdict on their stunning decline.
Slot left British record signing Alexander Isak on the bench after his latest scoreless outing last weekend.
It made no difference as Liverpool became the first English side to lose at home to PSV since 2008.
Liverpool lacked intensity, lost too many individual duels, struggled to break down opponents in a low block and were repeatedly caught on the counter.
Virgil van Dijk had called for Liverpool’s players to take individual responsibility, but the Reds captain was culpable as PSV took the lead in the sixth minute.
Instead of heading clear from a PSV corner, Van Dijk needlessly raised his arm to block the ball.
Van Dijk claimed he was being fouled when he blocked the set-piece but his protests were in vain as Perisic converted the penalty in front of a stunned Kop.
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Liverpool took just 10 minutes to get back on level terms this time. Cody Gakpo’s run into the PSV area climaxed with a shot that was parried by Matej Kovar and Szoboszlai pounced to guide a first-time finish into the empty net from 12 yards.
Van Dijk nearly made amends for his earlier blunder when he glanced a header against the bar from Mohamed Salah’s corner.
Kovar plunged to his left to keep out Hugo Ekitike’s close-range strike to conclude the first half.
But Liverpool’s pressure failed to produce a second goal and their defensive frailties were punished in the 56th minute.
Mauro Junior’s sublime pass left Milos Kerkez trailing behind Til as he fired a fine finish past Giorgi Mamardashvili from 12 yards.
Gakpo added to Slot’s frustration, heading woefully over when he should have equalised from Szoboszlai’s cross.
Liverpool’s misery was compounded in farcical fashion in the 73rd minute. Ibrahima Konate made a complete hash of a pass inside his own half, allowing Ricardo Pepi to race clear for a shot that cannoned back off the post to Driouech, who gleefully slotted home.
Slot stood watching in disbelief in stoppage time when Sergino Dest was allowed to gallop clear and cross to Driouech for a clinical finish.
Pressure is building. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Pressure is building. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
PSG STAR SEES RED FOR ‘ABSOLUTELY UNCALLED FOR’ ACT
Midfield star Vitinha scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind on the way to beating Tottenham Hotspur 5-3 in an action-packed game.
The Portuguese playmaker cancelled out Richarlison’s opener in stunning fashion just before half-time at the Parc des Princes, and then repeated the trick early in the second half after Randal Kolo Muani had got Spurs’ second.
The on-loan Kolo Muani had been hoping to come back and haunt his parent club -- he later scored again, but that was after the reigning European champions had punished poor Tottenham defending to net twice more themselves.
Fabian Ruiz got PSG’s third and Willian Pacho their fourth, with Vitinha eventually sealing the victory from the spot as the French giants made it four wins out of five in this season’s Champions League.
PSG, who had Lucas Hernandez sent off at the death, are closing in on a place in the knockout phase and are well positioned to finish the league phase in the top eight, meaning direct progress to the last 16.
Hernandez saw red following a review for an elbow on Xavi Simons.
“Stupid. Mindless. Absolutely uncalled for. One of the worst you’ll see. I don’t know why Hernandez does it,” Former Tottenham and England keeper Paul Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
Spurs, meanwhile, slip to 16th but can still be optimistic of their chances of reaching the next stage with Slavia Prague to come next.
Nevertheless, coach Thomas Frank did not get the confidence-boosting outcome he was looking for after last weekend’s 4-1 loss to Arsenal -- Spurs have now let in 11 goals in three matches and have won just three of their last 12 outings.
Yet there is no disgrace in losing to this PSG team, even if they are currently weakened by injuries.
This was the 10th time the Parisians had faced Premier League opposition in 2025 and they have now won six of those encounters inside 90 minutes -- they also defeated Spurs on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup in August.
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HUGE BLUNDER IN BIG ARSENAL WIN
Elsewhere, Arsenal thumped Bayern Munich 3-1 in a clash of the English and German league leaders to maintain their perfect record in the Champions League this season.
The Gunners dominated the second half after 17-year-old Lennart Karl pulled the Bundesliga team level, with Noni Madueke restoring Arsenal’s lead and fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli taking advantage of a huge blunder from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Bayern started the match at the Emirates top of the Champions League table, just above the Gunners, with both teams having won four games out of four.
The game took time to come alive but the Gunners went ahead in the 22nd minute when Jurrien Timber headed home a Bukayo Saka corner, with a flailing Neuer unable to intercept.
The goal underlined Arsenal’s relentless brilliance from set-pieces. Eberechi Eze, who scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s 4-1 win against Tottenham, had a glorious chance to double the Gunners’ lead but scuffed his shot wide.
Arsenal had looked relatively comfortable but Bayern were back in the game in the blink of an eye in the 32nd minute, courtesy of a strike from Karl.
Joshua Kimmich played a superb diagonal ball that was laid off first time by former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry and Karl finished confidently past David Raya.
Arsenal were quickly on the front foot in the second half, with Neuer pushing a fierce Saka shot over the bar.
Karl then surged down the right and into the home side’s penalty box but his weak shot was easily collected by Raya.
As the intensity built, Arsenal’s Mikel Merino failed to connect properly with another dangerous corner before Neuer saved a Cristhian Mosquera header from point-blank range.
Now it was all Arsenal.
Neuer was called into action again, saving with his legs as Declan Rice bore down on him, with Saka unable to turn in the loose ball.
But the pressure finally paid off with just over 20 minutes to go, when Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano played a loose ball that was picked up by substitute Riccardo Calafiori on the left.
He crossed and fellow substitute Madueke turned the ball home. There was worse to come for Bayern when Eze sent a long ball over the top, with Neuer well outside his area.
Martinelli’s first touch took him past the stranded goalkeeper and he had a free run at goal, maintaining his nerve to slot home.
The delirious Arsenal fans taunted Bayern forward Harry Kane, a former Tottenham player, with a chant of “Harry, Harry, what’s the score”.
Both clubs remain well placed to finish in the top eight of the 32-team league phase of the Champions League, which guarantees automatic passage to the last 16.
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MBAPPE BAGS FOUR GOAL IN TENSE WIN
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe scored all four goals as Real Madrid hung on to beat Olympiacos 4-3 and end a three-match winless run in all competitions.
Chiquinho fired home from 20 yards to finish off a neat move as Olympiacos took an early lead in Greece, but Mbappe stole the show and took over as the competition’s leading scorer this season.
The France captain drilled through the legs of Olympiacos goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis to bring Madrid level on 22 minutes after racing onto a sublime ball in behind the defence from Vinicius Junior.
Mbappe struck again two minutes later when he planted a header low into the corner from an Arda Guler cross.
The forward completed the second fastest Champions League hat-trick ever as he ran clear and steered beyond Tzolakis again, his three goals coming in the space of six minutes and 42 seconds.
Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, against Rangers in 2022, has scored a quicker hat-trick in the competition.
Substitute Mehdi Taremi, who replaced the injured Chiquinho in the first half, hauled Olympiacos back into the match with an emphatic header past stand-in Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin on 52 minutes.
The Ukraine international was filling in for Thibaut Courtois, who missed the trip due to illness.
Madrid had never won away to Greek opponents on seven previous visits but Mbappe ensured the Spanish giants put an end to that sequence, turning in his fourth of the night after excellent work by Vinicius down the left.
That took Mbappe to nine goals in five Champions League matches this term, sending him three clear of Victor Osimhen at the top of the scoring charts.
Ayoub El Kaabi halved the deficit with nine minutes left but Madrid clung on to earn their fourth win in five Champions League matches, bouncing back from a loss at Liverpool in their last European outing.
Mbappe scored all four goals in the win. (Photo by Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP)
Mbappe scored all four goals in the win. (Photo by Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP)Source: AFP
ATLETICO SNATCH DRAMATIC LATE WIN OVER INTER MILAN
Jose Gimenez’s stoppage-time winner earned Atletico Madrid a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan, inflicting the Italians’ first defeat in the Champions League.
Julian Alvarez opened the scoring for Atletico early on as Diego Simeone’s side boosted their chances of a top eight finish following a mixed start to the league phase.
Piotr Zielinski levelled in the second half for Inter but the visitors faded in the final stages and Atletico capitalised.
Gimenez headed home Antoine Griezmann’s corner to claim a potentially vital triumph for the Rojiblancos at a rocking Metropolitano stadium.
New Inter coach Cristian Chivu started with Lautaro Martinez and Ange-Yoan Bonny up front, benching Marcus Thuram after Sunday’s disappointing derby defeat by AC Milan.
The Italians were also without Denzel Dumfries and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as they sought to maintain what had been a 100 percent start to the competition.
The trip to Madrid offered last season’s beaten finalists their first true test in Europe this term following four comparatively easy fixtures.
Federico Dimarco twice came close in the opening stages, with Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso tipping away his free-kick before the Italian wing-back fired narrowly wide when well placed.
Despite Inter’s enterprising start it was Atletico who took the lead, with Alvarez drilling home from close range when the ball deflected nicely for him.
Although the strike was initially ruled out for handball against Alex Baena, the referee allowed the goal after a VAR review as it appeared to have hit him in the stomach.
It was Alvarez’s 10th goal of the season across all competitions, with the former Manchester City player vital for the Rojiblancos.
MJose Maria Gimenez of Atletico de Madrid acknowledges the fans. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
MJose Maria Gimenez of Atletico de Madrid acknowledges the fans. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Musso, standing in for the injured Jan Oblak, beat away Hakan Calhanoglu’s shot from distance as Inter pushed for an equaliser.
The visitors pushed Atletico back for large swathes of the first half and Dimarco came close again with a curling effort which just flew wide of the top corner.
After losses against Serie A rivals Milan and Napoli, inexperienced coach Chivu was hoping to claim his first victory in a big match at Inter’s helm.
The Italians almost equalised at the start of the second half as Nicolo Barella brought down a long ball brilliantly and then lofted the ball against the crossbar.
It was no surprise when Inter levelled after 54 minutes, with Bonny teeing up Zielinski to sweep home.
Atletico found some balance after conceding and the pace slowed, with Inter seemingly content to add a point to their tally.
Alexander Sorloth lashed over the bar and Yann Sommer thwarted Griezmann at his near post, as Simeone’s side probed for a winner.
Swiss stopper Sommer saved from Marc Pubill as well, with the hosts in the ascendancy in the final stages, and they eventually got their second in the third minute of stoppage time.
Gimenez got his head on Griezmann’s corner and the ball flew past Sommer to spark big celebrations and help Atletico rise to 12th, with Inter 4th.