“Sacked in the morning,” came the chants from the away end at Anfield as Nottingham Forest became just the fourth team in Premier League history to win by three goals at the home of Liverpool.
And while Arne Slot won’t be getting sacked in the morning, or any time soon, the pressure on the Dutchman has cranked up a notch after a third 3-0 defeat in five games and a sixth league defeat in seven.
But for Liverpool, the Premier League champions, to be in the bottom half of the table and with a negative goal difference in the final week of November, is enough to question the manager’s future.
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What Arne Slot needs to do to keep his job as Liverpool manager
Liverpool boss Arne Slot is under pressure (Image credit: Getty Images)
“It’s my responsibility, if we win or lose it is my responsibility,” said Slot when asked pointedly by a reporter in his post-match press conference if he believes he can lead the team out of their current slump of eight defeats in 11 games in all competitions.
“What I also see is that the team keep on trying until the end, and our fans stay until the end,” added Slot, with at least one of those two claims being questionable. Fans left in droves after the third goal went in in the 79th minute.
Even captain Virgil van Dijk questioned the team’s fight, saying: “We were not good in terms of battles, challenges, the fight, too rushed. It’s a very difficult situation at the moment.
“We need to work harder,” the Dutchman added.
For long spells, Liverpool looked bereft of ideas on how to actually break down a well-organised Sean Dyche team. “We weren’t able to create enough,” said Slot. “I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out.”
Slot pulled his usual wildcards when staring defeat in the face. At 1-0, it was time for Ryan Gravenberch to drop into centre-back, replacing the hapless Ibrahima Konate, a tactic Slot consistently uses when his team is behind.
That change also saw Curtis Jones swap positions with Dominic Szoboszlai – the Hungarian again being tasked to play right back and centre midfield in the same game. If it’s confusing for him, he isn’t showing it, but quite why Slot felt the need to move Szoboszlai away from the No.10 role where he has shown he is absolutely key in recent weeks is just one in a case load of confusing decisions.
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Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Alexander Isak of Liverpool have so far been unable to turn the club’s form around (Image credit: Getty Images)
At 2-0, Slot then went for his oft-favoured tactic of basically throwing on every attacking player at his disposal. On came 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha for his first league minutes since playing the last 20 at Brentford when 3-1 down.
Ngumoha added to the attack alongside fellow substitutes Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa, plus Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo, but within seconds of his introduction, Liverpool found themselves 3-0 behind.
It’s a tactic Slot has gone with frequently during his tenure at Anfield, including last season, but has drawn criticism from fans who see it as disrupting the team’s structure and actually proving counterproductive as the team struggle to get the ball to all the forwards, who end up in each other’s way.
Liverpool were comfortably beaten by Man City prior to November’s international break (Image credit: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Explaining his thinking, Slot said: “I went to a 3-3-4 because I didn’t feel after my first substitution we were able to create a lot. I thought with 2-0 down let’s take an extra risk but that didn’t work out really well because two seconds later we were 3-0 down.”
“I don’t think we struggled with that [getting the ball to the forwards],” he added.
“I think we ended up a lot, a lot, a lot of times on our side with Cody [Gakpo] and with Mo [Salah], but we struggled to create a chance [from] that because they were defending with so many players in and around their box.”
Where do Liverpool go from here?
Liverpool won’t sack Slot imminently. There is, of course, an understanding that he has been dealt a truly unprecedented situation following the death of Diogo Jota. There may also be an acknowledgment that the new signings and squad turnover aren’t necessarily his choosing, as head coach it’s unclear how much of an influence he has on transfers.
But a run of league fixtures that looked very kind – West Ham, Sunderland, Leeds, Brighton – is now starting to look like potential opportunities to further inflict misery upon the Merseysiders.
A home Champions League tie against PSV should provide a comforting midweek break, and was surely a better match to provide Alexander Isak with to get his match fitness, but wins must be found in the league games ahead.
Liverpool won’t be retaining the title but Slot must ensure they remain in the Champions League next season in order to keep his job.
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