Liverpool in crisis, Arne Slot under serious pressure

On November 22, 2025, Liverpool suffered another blow to its reputation. At Anfield, the reigning Premier League champions were defeated 3-0 by Nottingham Forest. The visitors recorded their biggest win at this stadium in more than 60 years and beat the Reds twice in a row away from home for the first time in six decades.

The match was a microcosm of all of Liverpool’s problems this season. In the 33rd minute, defender Murillo scored from a corner, where the hosts once again failed to defend in the air. Immediately after the break, Neco Williams crossed from the wing, and Nicolò Savona calmly doubled the lead. Morgan Gibbs-White put the icing on the cake, scoring on the rebound after Alisson’s save.

This defeat was Liverpool’s sixth in their last seven Premier League matches and their biggest home loss in the league since 2021. Arne Slot’s team has only picked up 18 points and has dropped to 11th in the table, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.

After the game, Slot took full responsibility, stating bluntly that “there can be no excuses” and that the result was “very, very bad” for a club of Liverpool’s stature. According to him, the team started the match well and created chances in the first half hour, but every time the opponent entered the penalty area, it ended in a goal.

However, the fans are not interested in explanations. At Anfield, there was no outrage, but rather a heavy silence and a feeling of surrender: some fans left the stands before the third goal, not believing in a comeback, which the club had accustomed them to during the Jürgen Klopp era.

Transfers, table, and betting market reaction

The contrast with last season is striking. The team that was confidently heading for the title and seemed almost unbeatable at home has turned into a team with a soft underbelly. In the summer, Fenway Sports Group and Arne Slot invested over £440 million in the transfer market: Alexander Isak was bought from Newcastle United for a record £125 million, and another £116 million went to Florian Wirtz from Bayer.

It was expected that such a powerful reinforcement would allow Liverpool not only to defend their title but also to renew their attacking line. In practice, things turned out differently. Isak never regained his form after injury and looked out of place in the match against Forest: few touches, lost tackles, no real threat to the goal. Wirtz has also failed to justify the investment so far, with no goals or assists in the Premier League.

The series of failures has also affected Liverpool’s perception in the market. The best sports betting sites have already adjusted the odds: the Reds’ chances of defending their title are rapidly melting away, and the lines are increasingly discussing not the fight for first place, but the possibility of dropping out of the top four. The odds that the team will finish the season outside the Champions League zone are growing with each round, and the next Premier League matches are seen as a test of Slott’s project’s viability.

Pressure is mounting within the club. The statistics are relentless: eight defeats in eleven matches in all competitions, a series of home failures, problems with set pieces, and defensive lapses. Liverpool have already conceded nine goals from set pieces in the league — as many as they did in the entire previous season.

Officially, the Dutch coach’s position is not in doubt: the management and Tom Werner are publicly avoiding talk of resignation and emphasising that they believe in Slota’s ability to turn the situation around. But in the Premier League, confidence in a coach is always measured by results. If Liverpool does not stop its decline in the coming rounds, pressure from fans, the press, and the betting market will quickly turn the current crisis into an open discussion about the Dutchman’s future at Anfield.