Arne Slot applauds Liverpool fans at Villa Park (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
No sugarcoating it, Liverpool have been awful this season, as summed up by their 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa last night.
The Reds have been well beaten after looking shaky at the back again, and now their Champions League qualification hopes are on the line, even if they still have to go through.
DOWNLOAD THE CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP WITH ALL THE LATEST UPDATES AND RELEASES – DIRECT TO YOUR DEVICE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY
These figures, however, will make Liverpool fans well-read, and reinforce the ever-growing belief that Arne Slot’s time as manager must come to an end…
- Liverpool have now lost 20 games in all competitions this season – their highest ever tally
- Liverpool have conceded 52 league goals – their highest total in a 38-game season
- Liverpool have lost seven and drawn one of their away games against the top 9 clubs this season
Lord have mercy???? pic.twitter.com/jigyPvYayn
– ?????? (@labxnair) May 15, 2026
Considering how much Liverpool spent on new signings like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz last summer after winning the Premier League title, this dramatic dip is remarkable, and should be a cause for serious concern.
Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as the preferred source is Google in your favorites list for news you can trust
Champions League qualification will now be crucial for Liverpool, and a win against Brentford on the final day of the season will do it for them.
However, Bournemouth and Brighton are statistically still in the competition, so if Slot’s side drops points and in their last game then they can lose that place. If they play this badly, the home game against Brentford doesn’t look like a given either way.
Should Liverpool stick with Arne Slot?
Slot did a fantastic job in his first season at Anfield, comfortably winning the Premier League title and reaching the Carabao Cup final.
This may give the Dutch tactician more time to prove he can turn things around, but it could be argued that it reflects worse for him to have pushed the team too far back in what looks to be a strong position.
Perhaps it also suggests that Slot has recently benefited from inheriting Jurgen Klopp’s team and capitalizing on unfairly poor seasons for both Manchester City and Arsenal.
With the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz leaving, and with Mohamed Salah getting older, it seems Slot has not been able to fully cope with this change and put his stamp on the LFC team.
Ollie Watkins admits he enjoyed playing against Liverpool
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins spoke bitterly after the game as he admitted that Liverpool were disjointed at the back, and that he enjoyed playing against them…
?? “They are separated at the back and there is a lot of space for me to get into”
OIlie Watkins fancy scoring against Liverpool? pic.twitter.com/Ez7PTtcx2x
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 15, 2026
“They are not coming together at the back and I feel like there is a lot of space for me to enter. I will get opportunities against them,” said the English player.
These aren’t comments you want to hear if you’re a top team, and it’s important that Slot can raise the rankings quickly or they will be under heavy pressure in the coming weeks and months.
