Liverpool risks missing out on a place in next season's Champions League amid its disappointing Premier League campaign, and Arne Slot knows all too well the impact that could have on the club
James Findlater Content Editor
11:45, 10 Feb 2026
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot speaks with Liverpool's Italian striker #14 Federico Chiesa from the sidelines during the UEFA Champions League football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool FC in Frankfurt, western Germany on October 22, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Arne Slot has rarely used Federico Chiesa since he signed for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
Arne Slot knows Liverpool has to qualify for next season’s Champions League in order for this season to be deemed “acceptable”.
The Reds face a huge fight to secure a place at Europe’s top table again, having suffered yet another blow with defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. The result leaves them trailing both Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for the Champions League places.
A fifth-place finish looks as though it will be enough in the Premier League again this season, although even that looks like a tall order for Liverpool at the moment, given it could find itself eight and seven points behind its main rivals by the time it kicks off against Sunderland on Wednesday.
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Slot has found himself coming under pressure for his job amid this season’s poor performances in the league, although Liverpool does look to be backing him after showing a united front with sporting director Richard Hughes and CEO Billy Hogan recently.
Nevertheless, both Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes have now suggested that Liverpool needs to win a seventh European title in order to rescue the season, and Slot knows what the bare minimum is for the club.
Asked whether he needed to qualify for the Champions League for it to be considered an acceptable season, Slot responded: “Acceptable? Yes.
“If we don’t have Champions League football, it’s definitely not been an acceptable season.”
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, reacts during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on February 08, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Arne Slot has conceded Liverpool needs to qualify for the Champions League for the season to be deemed 'acceptable'(Image: Getty Images)
Explaining the effect missing out on the Champions League could have, Slot added: “When I arrived here, we could only sign Federico Chiesa, and that was after a Europa League season, so that does have an enormous impact in the way this club is run.
“That is clear. I am completely aware of that.”
Liverpool has plenty of ground to make up if it is to reach that “acceptable” level, and Wednesday’s trip to Sunderland will not make things easier, with the Black Cats the only side still boasting an unbeaten home record this season.
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"[We have to be] close to perfection because of the points we are behind," Slot added during his pre-match press conference.
"We also know it is different when you are four points behind a team that are 18th or 19th in the league because they usually don't pick up as many points as the number three, four or five picks up, so to close the gap to numbers three, four and five, that means you have to win a lot and that is not what we have done this season a lot, so that is why that has to be better and that is why we have to be close to perfection.
"Margins are indeed very small because seven minutes before the end we were five points behind City and five minutes later we were 11 points behind."