Liverpool must make immediate improvements after the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City left their Champions League qualification this season in peril, while a star could require surgery
Dan Burnham Senior Sports Reporter/Content Editor and Neil Docking
08:40, 10 Feb 2026
Arne Slot's Liverpool are in danger of not qualifying for next season's Champions League
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Arne Slot's Liverpool are in danger of not qualifying for next season's Champions League
Liverpool will probably still be scratching their heads over how they allowed their 1-0 advantage against Manchester City to evaporate during a chaotic final 20 minutes at Anfield on Sunday.
Dominik Szoboszlai's brilliant free-kick was wiped out by a Bernardo Silva strike and an Erling Haaland spot-kick, before the Hungarian was sent off in a VAR review that also chalked off a Rayan Cherki third goal. Wednesday's journey to the Stadium of Light - where Sunderland stay undefeated in the Premier League this campaign - will offer another tough examination.
Szoboszlai will be absent for manager Arne Slot, who's already been grappling with a fitness crisis. Despite his selection headaches, Slot understands he must get his team's pursuit of Champions League qualification back on course with only 13 matches remaining. Otherwise the Dutchman might find his role coming under intense examination.Here's all the latest news from Anfield.
Van Dijk makes demand
A soccer player in a red uniform is standing on the field, with a large crowd of spectators in the background.
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(Image: Icon Sport via Getty Images)
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After successfully containing Haaland for most of the match, Van Dijk appeared visibly frustrated following the 2-1 loss.
The defender called for his team-mates to raise their standards after conceding their sixth stoppage-time goal of the campaign, which has collectively cost them eight points, reports the Mirror.
"I think you can't compare all of the goals [conceded in stoppage time]," Van Dijk said. "I think maybe you can compare the Crystal Palace goal and the Bournemouth goal but this one you can't compare with the others. But the fact is that we conceded that late on and I keep saying it but we have to do better in this.
"You also have to remember that you're playing against City, who are obviously very comfortable on the ball, and at times, when you don't win the ball, because we did many times as well, I think making the right decisions could have been better.
"But yeah, it's easy now to maybe say that we dropped off too much and that's why they scored the equaliser. Overall the feeling that I have right now is that in the first half we weren't good enough, in the second half we were much better but still disappointed we lost.
"At the moment [we don't take positives] because I'm disappointed that we lost. But I will do everything in my power to recover and then we'll discuss it and then we have to turn our attention very, very quickly to an opponent that is having a very good season, especially at home, so it will be a big battle."
Jacquet 'could require surgery'
Jeremy Jacquet
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Jacquet was helped off the pitch by medical staff(Image: Ligue 1)
Jeremy Jacquet's £60million move to Liverpool, agreed during a relatively quiet January transfer window, saw the 20-year-old defender stay at Rennes for the remainder of the season to further his development in France.
However, this plan may now be in jeopardy, with L'Equipe reporting that the centre-back might need surgery on a shoulder injury sustained in a 3-1 loss to Lens on Saturday. He was forced to leave the pitch in agony in the second half after an uncomfortable fall.
His former manager Habib Beye, who left the Ligue 1 club on Monday, commented after the match: "For Jeremy, it's his shoulder. We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious."
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The report suggests that if surgery is required, Jacquet could be sidelined for several weeks, possibly even for the rest of the season. This could also affect his pre-season preparations with Liverpool.
While it's still early days, manager Slot will be hoping the injury isn't as severe as initially thought, especially given the long-term injury to Giovanni Leoni and the expected departure of Ibrahima Konate as a free agent at the end of the season.