Arne Slot has been sacked by Liverpool just over a year after lifting the club's 20th English title, with his woeful second season at the helm convincing owners Fenway Sports Group to wield the axe
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 03: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on May 03, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Liverpool have parted ways with Arne Slot(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
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You walk into English football, emphatically put an end to Pep Guardiola’s unprecedented era of Premier League dominance - four consecutive titles - and a year later, get the sack.
There is one undeniable truth about Arne Slot’s dismissal. It is a brutal call from the club. And, for now, a class act has left the Premier League. Slot had a tough season, that is for sure.
Not much tougher than Jurgen Klopp had in 2022-23, mind. In that season, Klopp’s side finished in the same position as Slot’s team did last season. Fifth.
In 2022-23, Klopp’s side were knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton in the fourth round and their Champions League hopes were ended by Real Madrid in the round of 16. Slot’s Liverpool of 2025-26 were knocked out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage by Manchester City and their Champions League hopes were ended by Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight.
In 2022-23, Klopp’s side won 50 per cent of their 52 games. Last season, Slot’s team won 49 per cent of its 57 games. You can have a mediocre season - it can happen. Even to Klopp.
Slot finished his Liverpool career with an overall win percentage of 58.4 per cent. Klopp’s overall win percentage was 60.9 per cent. Slot won one Premier League title, the same number as Klopp won.
Even though a significant element came from [Mohamed Salah](http://Mohamed Salah), forget all this talk of heavy metal football. Slot has suffered for not having Klopp's charisma. He has also suffered because the people who decided to pay him off have not exactly pulled up any trees lately.
Michael Edwards, Fenway Sports Group’s CEO of Football, and Liverpool's sporting director, Richard Hughes, have to take their share of blame for the relatively disappointing season. And they have to take their share of blame for the underwhelming impact of the group of expensive signings last summer.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - JULY 05: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot new head coach of Liverpool with Richard Hughes sporting director of Liverpool at AXA Training Centre on July 05, 2024 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Richard Hughes' first big decision was hiring Arne Slot(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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In terms of the direction the squad is heading in, and in terms of its balance, this has begun to look like an unusually disorganised Liverpool. Slot himself, of course, has a lot of responsibility for that. To be fair he has never shirked responsibility and, to some extent, has paid for his honesty.
He never shied away from saying his team had underperformed, and that does not always sit well with fans or, indeed, with players. For some time, there had been strong rumours that Salah was not the only one to have lost confidence in Slot's approach to the job.
Those players have hardly been blameless, though. High-energy, hard-pressing, football cannot be coached - it has to come from within the players. Too many of Liverpool’s players did not have it in them last season. And there were other reasons for the underwhelming campaign.
The drop-off in form of some senior players - most notably Salah himself - was a contributory factor to a limp defence of the Premier League title. And an even more significant one was the injuries suffered by the likes of Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong, not to mention hugely promising defender Giovanni Leoni.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 25: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool talks with Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, as he is substituted off after picking up an injury during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on April 25, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Injuries and fallouts plagued Arne Slot's second season(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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But, when all is said and done, the bottom line is that the most important people at a football club, the fans, had seemingly lost faith in Slot. At the penultimate home game of the season - a 1-1 draw with Chelsea - the atmosphere turned toxic and that is probably what did for him.
Well, that and the fact that Andoni Iraola was available to hire for free. But Slot can hold his head high and carry a fine reputation to whichever club he goes next. As for the people making the executive decisions, they simply cannot afford to make another bad one.
They cannot be excused for another bad one. We will see.
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