The wheels seem to be coming off at Liverpool, and Arne Slot is not presenting himself as a man who can turn things around.
A 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend means the Merseyside outfit have now failed to win their opening five league games in 2026.
Liverpool have dropped out of the top four behind Manchester United and Chelsea, and Jamie Carragher has become fearful.
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Next up for the Reds is a Champions League meeting with Qarabag, with Arne Slot’s side needing three points to guarantee their automatic qualification into the last-16.
Will Liverpool beat Qarabag and qualify for the last-16?
The Azerbaijani's have a poor record against English teams
Qarabag players line up for a squad picture before their UEFA Champions League match against Ajax at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Resul Rehimov/Anadolu).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Resul Rehimov/Anadolu
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Liverpool have looked better in Europe this season, and Wednesday’s tie against ‘weaker’ opponents should represent a good chance to get some much-needed confidence back in the team.
Arne Slot’s situation is becoming sad to watch
However, rather than any form of optimism being drilled into the fanbase pre-match, Slot’s press conference left more questions than answers.
The Dutchman was obviously quizzed on Liverpool’s struggles this season and gave a baffling response.
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He said: “This is not going to be a popular opinion but maybe the reason we won the league last season is that we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, because they beat us and we had every time a [full] week to prepare for our next game.”
You’re right, Slot, it’s not a popular opinion, mainly because there is zero evidence to back up that the PSG exit actually helped Liverpool in any way.
In fact, all it takes is a quick glance to show the Reds were much worse following their departure from the Champions League last term.
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Xabi Alonso pictured during Real Madrid's La Liga match against Real Betis at the Bernabeu (Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto
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Liverpool lost their second-leg tie against PSG on March 11, 2025. The first Premier League gameweek (29) after that fixture began on March 15, and when that came to a close, Slot’s side were 12 points clear at the top of the table.
Then, when they were given free midweeks for the remainder of the campaign, all we saw was the eventual champions limp over the line.
Prior to gameweek 29 (post-PSG second-leg) Liverpool had lost one Premier League fixture all season (against Nottingham Forest on September 14, 2024).
The Reds then played a further 10 games after exiting Europe, in which time they lost three, drew three and won four.
Not exactly the form of champions, and a huge decline compared to how Liverpool were playing prior to facing PSG.
In all honesty, his comments are sad to see. Just a man who doesn’t know how to turn things around and is just coming out with any random claims to try to excuse the rapid decline this term.
FSG are not known for sacking managers prematurely, but even the Liverpool hierarchy must be worried about some of the stuff Slot is starting to come out with now.
He can’t use the low-block excuse to explain results anymore after the Bournemouth match proved that theory wrong.
So maybe all Liverpool now need to turn their season around is an early Champions League exit? Truly bizarre.
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