Liverpool ‘spreadeagled’ in Wolves disasterclass as Arne Slot sack mooted on one condition | OneFootball

Two journalists who specialise in covering Liverpool have perfectly summed up the omnishambles that is Arne Slot’s side right now, and talk of the Dutchman losing his job is whipping up.

Don’t let Liverpool’s four-game winning streak prior to Tuesday night’s defeat to Wolves fool you – they didn’t play well in any of those games.

The Reds somehow managed a lower xG versus relegation-threatened West Ham last weekend despite scoring five goals. It summed up how fortunate they really were, and at Molineux, the luck ran out.

It was the same old story for Slot’s team: painfully slow tempo, failure to convert chances in open-play, vulnerable to the counter, out-of-form players in the starting eleven.

Rio Ngumoha must be wondering if he’ll ever get a start ahead of Cody Gakpo. If the Dutchman comically hooking a goal-bound effort off of Wolves’ line in one of the best/worst pieces of defending we’ve seen all season doesn’t prompt a change next time out, nothing will.

But Gakpo’s moment of madness was just one small part of the wider issues at Liverpool, and two journalists who primarily cover the Reds perfectly summarised the dire situation the reigning champions find themselves in.

Taking to X, The Athletic’s James Pearce wrote: “Huge blow to Liverpool’s hopes of CL qualification as they’re beaten by the bottom club at Molineux.

“Such a ragged performance. Conceded another shambolic stoppage-time winner for their collection through Andre. Salah had cancelled out Rodrigo Gomes opener.”

He quickly added: “So many of the worrying traits of this season on display. Allowed first 45mins to drift and created so little with build up far too slow.

“Failed to make spell of dominance count after the break. Concede from Wolves’ first shot in 78th min. Concede again at the death. So brittle.”

Just as it was last season, fifth spot is expected to be good enough for Champions League qualification. But if Liverpool do sneak in, it’ll be through Chelsea or Aston Villa imploding on an even grander scale, rather than anything the Reds have done well.

The Daily Mail’s Dominic King chose a cricket analogy to take Liverpool to task. As so often happened earlier in the campaign, Liverpool were countered at will in the final stages and both of Wolves’ goals came via weak and/or sloppy defensive work deep within their own half.

“Liverpool played like a batsman nudging singles rather than going for boundaries,” stated King. “They ended up with their wickets spreadeagled.

“One last minute goal conceded is unlucky, two is careless. Five? It’s a deeper malaise.”

It is inconceivable Liverpool sack Slot in the remainder of the season, though whether he’s makes it to opening day next year is another matter entirely.

Our colleagues over at TEAMtalk have consistently been informed Slot’s future could hinge on UCL qualification.

And in the aftermath of the Wolves defeat, BBC pundit, Stephen Warnock, insisted he wouldn’t be surprised if failure to secure a top five finish results in Slot being sacked.

He declared: “Liverpool are nowhere near where they would like to be. When you think about reigning champions and the title defence, it’s not gone to plan at all.

“There is a lot of talk about Arne Slot and what possibly might happen at the end of the season, and I think if he doesn’t get Champions League football, I wouldn’t be surprised if the club made a change.”

While never the most reliable of sources, reports in Spain over the past few hours have also claimed Slot has now been ‘sentenced’ to the sack.