Liverpool urged to sack ‘clueless’ Arne Slot as Van Dijk ‘disasterclass’ costs Reds against PSV | OneFootball

Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk have both been slammed after Liverpool were stunned by PSV in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

PSV ran out deserved 4-1 winners to hand Liverpool their third straight defeat in all competitions. Incredibly, the Reds have conceded three goals or more in each of those matches.

They have now lost nine out of their last 12 games, their worst run since the 1950s.

Wins against Aston Villa and Real Madrid in early November eased pressure on Slot, but Liverpool’s season has hit a new low. Slot has a huge task on his hands to turn their fortunes around.

The manner in which Liverpool went behind just five minutes in summed up the game. Van Dijk put his hand in the air during a PSV corner, claiming for a foul, only for the ball to strike his arm and the referee to award a penalty.

Ivan Perisic stepped up to send Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way.

Dominik Szoboszlai – Liverpool’s only decent performer on the night – equalised in the 16th minute after Cody Gakpo had a shot saved.

Hugo Ekitike had a penalty shout waved away and Van Dijk hit the crossbar before half time.

PSV came out quickly in the second half and restored their lead in the 56th minute, as Mohamed Salah failed to track Mauro Junior before he played a great pass into Guus Til to finish. Milos Kerkez should have done better to get goalside of the striker.

Couhaib Driouech came off the bench to net a brace and pile more misery on Slot. His first goal was helped by an Ibrahima Konate error in the build up, while Van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister showed a lack of effort when tracking back for his second.

‘Shocking team selection’, ‘confidence gone’

Fans were quick to suggest Slot should be sacked on Reddit. One wrote: ‘Clueless tactically, shocking team selection and man management. But if I said this manager should’ve been shown the door during the international break, I’M the bad guy.’

Another added: ‘It’s clear for all to see Slot has lost the dressing room. Confidence… gone. Complacency and pessimism… in. Slot out!’

A third said: ‘Slot has no idea what he’s doing. Maybe he is a tactical genius, but he sure as hell has not been able to get this team to actually play proper football.

‘I just don’t see a path back for him, the trust seems to be gone. Even top four will be difficult at this rate.’

Van Dijk also received fierce criticism for his handball on social media, with one observer writing on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Virgil van Dijk disasterclass.’

Unwanted Van Dijk record after ’embarrassing’ error

A Reddit user commented: ‘100% on him. What was he thinking? What was he complaining about? Embarrassing on both counts. You’re the captain.’

‘Absolute madness from VVD,’ another said. ‘Almost like he felt the opponent put their arms around him and then tried to catch the ball as he thought it was an obvious foul. Either that or massive brain fail.

‘Either way, self destructive.’

Van Dijk has now conceded three penalties in all competitions this season, the most out of any Premier League player.

Prior to the PSV defeat, a senior Liverpool source provided insight on what the Reds are thinking about Slot’s future.

The Dutchman has credit in the bank after helping Liverpool win the title last season, but they have gone backwards this term.

Only Ekitike has been a success out of the summer arrivals. Alexander Isak looks way off it, Kerkez is erratic, while Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong are both injured.

Liverpool news: Konate update; Elliott return?

Despite his poor form, Real Madrid are still pursuing Konate.

We understand Madrid are growing in confidence about signing the defender, though Liverpool feel they are making progress in contract talks.