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By LEWIS STEELE, FOOTBALL REPORTER and DOMINIC KING Published: 10: 29 AEDT, 28 November 2025 | Updated: 10: 32 AEDT, 28 November 2025 11 View comments Make no bones about it, Liverpool are in a full-blown crisis.   Nine defeats in 12. Ten goals conceded in three games. One goal scored in three games. £450million spent in the summer, just to be 13 points and 11 places worse off than this stage last season.   The fixtures are coming thick and fast, and so are the new depths plumbed, but nobody seems able to pinpoint exactly why the Reds are slumping so badly. The Arne Slot penitentiary has become their own prison. Our Merseyside football men LEWIS STEELE and DOMINIC KING try to put their fingers on some of the major problems. .. DEFENSIVE DISARRAY The foundation of Liverpool’s success under Slot was the clean sheet. The 2-0 dismissals of Real Madrid and Manchester City in the space of five days, shortly after a 4-0 lampooning off Bayer Leverkusen, illustrated everything that they were about. But control has disappeared from Liverpool’s performances in 2025: they have played 49 games in all competitions since January 1 and conceded a staggering 66 goals. The ratio at which they are shipping, however, is increasing: 29 games up to May 25 saw 33 conceded. There have been 20 games since August 10 and the shellacking from PSV Eindhoven took this campaign up to 33 goals conceded. Nothing looks right about the set-up. Slot’s persistence in playing either Curtis Jones or Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back when Conor Bradley or Jeremie Frimpong have been injured has unbalanced the team too often. We will never know what difference Marc Guehi would have made but the ease at which opponents have been running through Liverpool tells you there will be more suffering. There is a bigger opening through their centre than the Mersey Tunnel. Liverpool's defensive stability has given way to fragility; they've conceded 33 this season Their inability to sign Marc Guehi in the summer has left them shorn of quality and depth NEW BOYS UNDERWHELMING The aspect that was worrying after the transfer window closed was how easily people were saying Arsenal had the best squad in the Premier League. Should that have been the case after Liverpool spent more than £400million? No. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz face huge challenges to change the stance many have taken on them; those who watch the latter on a daily basis will tell you he has a magician’s deftness and glorious ability but it has got to translate. Full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have been really poor so far and, again, their problems are exacerbated by the team’s travails. They need to help Liverpool but they will also be conscious of their own need to progress. Giorgi Mamardashvili has the stature of a proper goalkeeper but, to date, hasn’t convinced anyone that it was a good idea to let Caoimhin Kelleher have his wish and move to Brentford. Then there is Hugo Ekitike, who started like a rocket but has lost his way since a stupid sending-off in the League Cup against Southampton. None of this influx, as yet, have grasped exactly what is required in terms of character to play for Liverpool. Florian Wirtz's growing pains in English football have hamstrung Arne Slot's tactical plan Alexander Isak is not playing like somebody who is fully fit despite it being nearly December CAN THE BOSS SURVIVE THIS?   The atmosphere at Slot’s press conference on Thursday felt different, less jovial and jokey than normal. One Dutch reporter, who was here to cover Wednesday’s game from the PSV Eindhoven angle, had cancelled her flight home to attend this briefing instead as Slot’s future is suddenly the biggest story in the Netherlands. There were also zero free parking spaces as the hungry media descended to grill a man under pressure. Slot, who had barely slept on Wednesday night, looked like a struggling man -- smiling but battling off several cringe-inducing inquiries over his job security. It is never comfortable to witness, especially with a man who gave the fans some unforgettable days just six months ago. But that is football and he knows nine defeats in 12 is an abomination that he must take the blame for – though it is worth saying Slot is far from the only party at blame for the dismal autumn fall from grace. So can he survive? He has never had a run like this in his career so he has no history for dragging teams out of mess like this. In the dressing room, captain Virgil van Dijk came out and said senior stars were letting the head coach down and maybe he was right. But if they lose on Sunday at West Ham, the noise over Slot's future will be deafening. The boss is not doing anything differently to last year in terms of how he structures the weeks. It is hard, therefore, to put a finger on what he is doing wrong. But clearly his once invincible methods are full of cracks. Arne Slot has not changed much but his old methods are not paying off this campaign TIME TO CHANGE THE STYLE OF PLAY Slot blamed an injury to Hugo Ekitike to why Liverpool’s off-the-ball press fell apart in the second half against PSV Eindhoven, which seemed to be a bit of an unintended dig at £125million man Alexander Isak. The fundamentals of the style of play is similar this year to last just with different personnel and none of the new signings have lived up to their price tags yet. So have opponents just worked out how to play against Liverpool? It is certainly a factor. Slot himself said a month ago that his team could not deal with direct, long balls which was rather worrying. As well as his comments that basically said ‘go on lads, play direct’, Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella openly discussed how Liverpool’s right-hand side was easy to exploit due to Mohamed Salah not putting in hard yards in a defensive sense. At the start of last season, Slot and Salah had a conversation where it was decided the Egyptian would be given very limited defensive duties. That is all good when it yields 57 goal involvements going the other way but not such a great gamble when the 34-year-old is struggling for form in front of goal. Missing Trent Alexander-Arnold is evidently another issue, while rotten mistakes by the likes of Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are hardly Slot’s fault. Bad luck in both penalty areas is plaguing Liverpool, but you make your own luck. Other teams have figured out to play Liverpool, as Slot has admitted repeatedly in public The old guard, previously so trustworthy, have seen their form fall off a cliff this season Give them a blank cheque and a pen and let them write the numbers they want. That was the general gist of arguments last year when Salah and Van Dijk were out of contract – but since signing new deals, they have not been good enough. Neither has been particularly dreadful but, put it this way: if they were performing like this last season, the fact they were soon to be out of contract would not be an issue debated every single day. Alisson has missed most of the last two months while Slot clearly does not trust Andy Robertson as Milos Kerkez is the main left-back according to most team selections. The old guard are letting him down, therefore – and other senior professionals like Alexis Mac Allister, Ibrahima Konate and Cody Gakpo are nowhere near their best. Depth is clearly an issue, too. Joe Gomez is fit to play but never seems to be trusted by Slot, Federico Chiesa is often only given cameo appearances and Wataru Endo is barely seen in midfield. Youngsters like Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni are the other back-up options. After spending £450million in the summer, Liverpool are still a couple of men light in their squad. They have just five fit defenders, wingers Gakpo and Salah do not have competition giving them a kick up the backside to improve, while in-game substitutions are not being effective. Last season, Slot would often look to his bench and see the likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and, God rest his soul, Diogo Jota. All could change the game. Now it all looks a little bit threadbare when he glances over his left shoulder at his substitutes.

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