LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 22: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Anfield on November 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
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It was around this time last season that Liverpool started to stretch its legs at the top of the Premier League table. The Reds won 10 of their first 12 fixtures to build an advantage that ultimately proved to be unassailable. Nobody could catch Arne Slot’s team as the Dutchman became a title winner in his debut season on Merseyside.
A lot has changed in the 12 months since then. 12 gamesinto the 2025/26 campaign Liverpool has lost six times with its latest loss coming on Saturday. Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 win at Anfield wasn’t so much a shock, but a sign of where Liverpool is right now. This was the continuation of a trend.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (left) reacts during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Saturday November 22, 2025. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Liverpool has lost six of its last seven league fixtures. Slot’s team are closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table with the Reds suffering from the same consistent problems in almost every match they play at the moment. The Dutch coach is failing to find solutions to those issues.
“It is my responsibility, whether we win or lose,” said Slot after the comprehensive home defeat to Forest. “But what I also see is a team keeping on trying until the end and the fans as well by the way, who stayed to the end to support the players. Lately, it’s almost constantly that we miss our chances and the ones we concede go in. That will not continue throughout the whole season.
“But we need that moment of energy of scoring a goal when playing well and going 1-0 up. The opposite thing happened as Forest got a big energy boost from scoring. I see a lot of things where in a normal situation the result would have been different but we’re now in a difficult situation.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot appears dejected after the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Saturday November 22, 2025. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Last season, Slot was wise enough to use much of the framework that had been left for him by his Liverpool predecessor Jurgen Klopp. Slot only made minor tweaks to a team that had already achieved a lot of success before the former Feyenoord manager turned up. This season, though, Slot is having to think more deeply.
It is now on Slot to mould Liverpool in his own image. He must implement his own ideas now that the muscle memory from the Klopp era has run out. If the Dutchman can’t do that, Liverpool might start to consider his future at the club. Slot is a long way from that crunch point, though. He still has some credit in the bank.