Final Thoughts: Arne Slot on the brink as Liverpool are smashed by PSV | OneFootball

Liverpool 1 – 4 PSV – Champions League Postmortem

With Liverpool’s season already hanging together with chewing gum and masking tape, Anfield expected a response after the Nottingham Forest collapse. Instead, it got yet another lifeless showing, making one thing abundantly clear: this team has downed tools. Whether by resignation or dismissal, the Arne Slot era now feels moments from ending.

The Starting Eleven

Liverpool XI

• GK – Giorgi Mamardashvili

• RB – Curtis Jones

• CB – Ibrahima Konaté

• CB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

• LB – Milos Kerkez

• CM – Alexis Mac Allister

• CM – Ryan Gravenberch

• CM – Dominik Szoboszlai

• RW – Mohamed Salah

• CF – Hugo Ekitike

• LW – Cody Gakpo

Substitutes

• Alexander Isak → Hugo Ekitike (61’)

• Federico Chiesa → Ibrahima Konaté (76’)

Goals

• Liverpool 0–1 PSV – Ivan Perisic (Penalty) (6’)

• Liverpool 1–1 PSV – Dominik Szoboszlai (16’)

• Liverpool 1–2 PSV – Gus Til (Mauro Junior) (56’)

• Liverpool 1–3 PSV – Couhaib Driouech (Ivan Perisic) (69’)

• Liverpool 1–4 PSV – Couhaib Driouech (Ricardo Pepi) (73’)

Match Statistics

• Possession: Liverpool 63% | PSV 37%

• XG: Liverpool 2.50 | PSV 2.17

• Total Shots: Liverpool 27 | PSV 9

• Fouls: Liverpool 9 | PSV 9

• Corners: Liverpool 11 | PSV 4

• Saves: Liverpool 2 | PSV 8

First Half

An expectant Anfield crowd watched Liverpool begin with something resembling intent, albeit not enough to mask the fragility that has crept into every aspect of their game. Conceding a penalty inside six minutes further heightened the tension, but the Reds did continue to probe, control possession and create opportunities without ever truly taking command. Questioning whether the handball from the skipper was orchestrated may hold water, but that’s one for the conspiracy theorists.

Szoboszlai, as has become routine, stood out as the one player capable of injecting momentum. Yet too many around him either shrank under the pressure or played like a side waiting for something to go wrong. Despite the volume of shots and spells of control, the overall atmosphere hinted at a team hanging by a thread, eager to see that thread break.

Liverpool went into halftime arguably the better side, but in truth, it was a mild improvement at best — a thin layer of polish over an underlying crisis.

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Second Half

The restart brought a brief flicker of hope, Szoboszlai’s equaliser arriving early in the first half had surely driven hope for a second-half response. But instead of sparking a surge, it merely delayed the unravelling which is now commonplace.

PSV sensed Liverpool’s brittle confidence and pounced. Til’s strike restored their lead, and from that moment the home side collapsed. The body language screamed resignation. The intensity evaporated. And the belief — already on life support — vanished entirely from a dissolution-filled stadium.

Driouech’s brace, both goals arriving with embarrassing ease, confirmed what the eye had already made clear: Liverpool’s players have given up on the manager. They no longer trust the system, the plan, or the direction they are being taken.

From 1–1 to 1–4 in the space of 17 chaotic minutes.

A collapse of effort, structure, and leadership.

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Final Thoughts

This was the kind of performance that ends managerial tenures. Not because of the scoreline, but because of the message it delivered: the players are no longer willing to carry out the head coach’s instructions. They look lost, disconnected, and mentally finished with this project.

Change is not simply recommended — change is essential.

Whether Arne Slot resigns or is relieved of his duties is the only remaining question. The longer this continues, the greater the damage that will be done to a squad still full of elite footballers who now look utterly directionless.

This is the end of the road.

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Steven Smith’s Score Prediction:

Liverpool 2 – 1 PSV