𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The contrast could hardly have been greater.

On Tottenham Hotspur’s previous visit to Anfield 11 months earlier, Arne Slot’s name was chanted repeatedly by the Kop. An emphatic 5-1 victory ensured that the Dutchman became just the fifth manager in the Premier League era to win the title in his first season in English football.

Having surpassed all expectations since the departure of the beloved Jurgen Klopp at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the club’s first league triumph secured in front of their supporters for 35 years triggered scenes of unbridled joy.

It felt like the start of a new golden era.

On Sunday evening, Slot once again stood in front of the Kop applauding following a home match against Tottenham. The difference this time was that he was looking up at thousands of empty seats. Many of those who had stayed behind after full time didn’t return the gesture as they stood trying to process the debacle they had just witnessed. The final whistle moments earlier had been greeted with a cacophony of boos.

How the landscape has shifted for Slot — from entering Anfield folklore in a blaze of glory to being under mounting pressure and criticism in under a year.

Liverpool weren’t beaten by Spurs, but it felt like they had been. In a miserable season full of painful setbacks, what we watched yesterday was arguably as bad as anything that’s been served up since the campaign began in August, given the circumstances.

Liverpool absorb the pain of another late goal to deny them points (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Tottenham arrived in crisis, mired in a relegation scrap, and with beleaguered interim head coach Igor Tudor on the brink. The Londoners were winless domestically in 2026 and without a dozen senior players due to injury.

With rivals Chelsea and Aston Villa both losing earlier in the weekend, Liverpool had a golden opportunity to strengthen their hopes of Champions League qualification. However, what the hosts produced was a dismal, disjointed, error-strewn display.

When Richarlison scored in the 90th minute to cancel out Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning first-half free-kick, it wasn’t some bolt from the blue. There was a sense of inevitability about the outcome given the manner in which Slot’s side had lost their way in the second half. Tottenham fully deserved their point.

“Of course it is damaging,” Slot said. “We don’t help ourselves at all. So many times this season we have created more xG (expected goals) and chances than we have scored. Usually in the Premier League you see a lot of teams outperform their xG but we haven’t.

“We have not been clinical enough throughout the whole season. It is not about the quality of the players. We have unbelievable attackers that in their careers were able to score a lot of goals.

“We also struggle to keep clean sheets. We haven’t had as many as you would want if you want to go higher up in the table. That is a bad combination to pick up as many points as we want.”

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner, who was over visiting from the US, was in the Anfield directors’ box on Sunday and won’t have enjoyed what he witnessed. This wasn’t a tale of Liverpool simply not being ruthless enough in the final third. Yes, they edged it on xG (1.6 versus 1.2) but they had fewer shots on target (four versus seven) and created fewer big chances as defined by Opta (one versus two) — despite having 63 per cent possession.

What was truly alarming was the sight of the same old issues which have dogged Liverpool all season. There’s a lack of conviction and composure in all departments. They allow games to drift. Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister won just two of his 12 duels. Once again Liverpool failed to score from open play. Once again they conceded a truly dreadful goal.

It was so avoidable with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s long punt not dealt with by Andy Robertson before captain Virgil van Dijk failed to halt Randal Kolo Muani. Joe Gomez, inexplicably, got drawn across and left Richarlison unmarked to score. There’s a glaring fragility to Liverpool and they have now conceded eight Premier League goals in the 90th minute or later this season — their most in a single campaign.

No manager can legislate for senior pros making mistakes like that but the problem for Slot is that approaching the business end of the season there’s little sign of him galvanising the talent at his disposal. The campaign has been so stop-start. Every time Liverpool seem to generate some momentum they stumble and let themselves down. Lessons just aren’t being learned.

There are some mitigating circumstances for this season’s struggles from the tragic loss of Diogo Jota, to the recruitment decisions made above Slot’s pay grade, signings needing time to adjust to their new surroundings, key personnel losing their way, and the injury issues which have hampered the team’s progress.

But the biggest reason why Slot is haemorrhaging support among match-going fans is the stale brand of football Liverpool are playing. There’s so little to excite. So little to emotionally invest in. Teenager Rio Ngumoha was a breath of fresh air on his full league debut against Tottenham with his positivity and directness, but the hosts got considerably worse after he was subbed off.

Where Klopp provided the chaos, Slot was all about control last season but even that seems beyond him currently. When Liverpool really needed to take the sting out of the contest in the second half when they were 1-0 up on Sunday, it got fraught and panic set in. Game management was non-existent.

“Because we were not able to score the second goal, that would immediately damage the momentum of the other team,” Slot added. “When it’s still 1-0, it’s normal that the subs the other manager makes, going even more offensive and direct, taking more risks, that can lead to them creating chances but them also being very open for counter-attacks. We didn’t concede chances by being too open or too offensive or being outplayed through midfield, it was from playing balls over the press into our last line.

“All the chances we had in the second half was from when we picked up second balls and counter attacked them. But the three, four, fives times they picked up the second ball, they were a threat. That is probably the belief teams have now when they play against us and we might be a bit anxious towards the end. That’s normal to start to feel like that when it’s happened so many times.”

When Liverpool signed off 2025 with four straight wins in all competitions, there was a belief that they had finally turned a corner after the dark days of autumn. It turned out to be a false dawn. Since then they have won just four of their 12 league games, including taking only one point out of the last six on offer against lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers and Spurs.

Rio Ngumoha provided Liverpool’s bright moments (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Galatasaray, who will be protecting a 1-0 first-leg lead when they arrive at Anfield in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday, will fancy their chances of advancing to the quarter-finals on this evidence.

Asked about the growing sense of unrest in the stands, Slot added: “I think it is understandable for fans to be frustrated because it has happened already so many times — the home team not picking up the points they expected and us conceding goals in the last minute.

“It’s up to me and the players to take that frustration into Wednesday evening and give the fans the kind of performance and the result they deserve because the fans have been so supportive throughout the season.”

Liverpool still have two shots at silverware and occupy fifth place in the Premier League, which is almost certain to be enough to secure Champions League football next season. All is not lost.

But the sight of fans leaving in their droves both at 1-0 up deep into normal time and after Spurs equalised at the start of stoppage time was damning. They had seen enough and you could hardly blame them given the paucity of what they had witnessed.

Slot hasn’t reached the point of no return. He could still turn this around but the clock is ticking. Liverpool can’t afford another shambles like this one.