The media didn’t hold back in their criticism of Liverpool and Arne Slot after the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, with the Dutchman under more pressure than ever.
The Reds were dire at times on Saturday, struggling against a Blues team who had lost their six previous Premier League games.
Here’s how the media dissected another sobering afternoon in an awful season.
Liverpool’s performance was heavily critiqued among the watching media…
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. The game ended 1-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. The game ended 1-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
The Daily Mail‘s Lewis Steele assessed the Reds’ latest lifeless showing:
“On your worst run in years and in desperate need of a point? Do you have a fanbase ready to revolt at the hierarchy after poor ownership and poor managerial appointments? Anxious about where your team might finish in the final league table?
“Doctor Liverpool will see you now. A contest against Arne Slot’s side is the perfect remedy for you.”
Andy Hunter of the Guardian was another who was scathing:
“The optimistic take is that Chelsea avoided equalling their worst run of league defeats since 1952 and warmed up nicely for next Saturday’s FA Cup final with a merited draw at Liverpool.
“Optimism, however, was thin on the ground at Anfield where boos greeted the full-time whistle and Arne Slot’s decision to introduce Alexander Isak for Rio Ngumoha.
“His team are crawling towards Champions League qualification with dissent for company.”
The Athletic‘s Thom Harris bemoaned a lack of attacking quality from Liverpool:
“Given that Liverpool spent close to £450million in last summer’s transfer window — and a large portion of that on attacking talent — they might not have been expecting to field a 17-year-old and a converted full-back alongside Gakpo up top in a game so critical to sealing Champions League football.
“All in all, it is a point that should secure a top five spot for Liverpool, but this was an attacking performance reflective of the wider season as Anfield, not for the first time of late, was left wondering what might have been.”
BBC Sport‘s Aadam Patel was again disappointed with Liverpool’s soft underbelly:
“When they took the lead in the sixth minute, Chelsea were there for the taking, but this Liverpool side lack intensity and their xG (expected goals) score of 0.51 in the end was their lowest in a Premier League home game since March 2021.
“Liverpool have now dropped nine points from winning positions in Premier League home games this season, their most at Anfield in a single campaign since 2015-16 (14).
“Ultimately, this was another missed opportunity for Liverpool against a side who earned their first Premier League point in 66 days.”
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Chelsea players celebrate in front of their travelling supporters after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. The game ended 1-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Chelsea players celebrate in front of their travelling supporters after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. The game ended 1-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
The Independent‘s Richard Jolly simply stated Liverpool lost “their way” and while the dropped points may not cost them, it was “unimpressive”:
“Chelsea end their losing run and ensure they won’t equal the club record of seven straight league defeats, set in 1952. Liverpool miss an opportunity to all but book their spot in next season’s Champions League.
“It may not cost them but this was unimpressive nonetheless, losing their way and the lead, and with Anfield evidently dissatisfied. There were boos at the final whistle.”
And Opta‘s David Segar did not hold back in the analysis of a “predictably low-quality game” from two teams “shorn of confidence”:
“Chelsea came into the game off the back of six consecutive losses in the league, but for the first time in a long time showed some fight to earn a draw, though they also owed plenty to yet another insipid performance from Liverpool, who only recorded 0.51 expected goals (xG), their lowest in a Premier League home game since March 2021, which was also against Chelsea (0.28).”
“It was, in truth, a predictably low-quality game from two teams completely shorn of confidence, and the game ended as a draw that suited the away side more than the hosts.”
It’s fair to say that Slot is feeling the heat…
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
David Lynch made it clear that many inside Anfield have turned on Liverpool’s head coach:
“Liverpool may be desperate to stick with Arne Slot, but that stance won’t withstand the Anfield crowd turning against him.
“Today felt like that – these fans are just sick of watching a passive, toothless brand of football they have seen for over a year now.”
During the match, the Telegraph’‘s Dominic King was hugely unimpressed with the negatives tactics on show:
“An early goal, the chance to pummel a team so obviously short of confidence but Liverpool spend 20 minutes dropping off and playing backwards to such an extent they have now been pegged back.
“Not for the first time here this season, it has been utterly anaemic.”
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot reacts during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot reacts during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Speaking on TNT Sports at half-time, former Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole claimed he had “never heard Anfield this restless,’ while Sam Wallace of Telegraph said, “rarely has Anfield been so angry with its team and their performance.”
James Whaling of the Mirror focused on the reaction to Slot’s decision to substitute Rio Ngumoha, which he later explained was due to cramp:
“It’s fair to say the number of discerning voices towards Arne Slot have grown over the course of the campaign at Anfield, and they made their feelings clear in the second half here.
“The Dutchman decided to take off the lively Rio Ngumoha for Alexander Isak on 67 minutes to a chorus of boos from those on the Kop and in other home areas.
“And the boos were loud and unmistakeable.”
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