Sorry, but Arne Slot's record just isn't stacking up | OneFootball

Arne Slot has won 62 of his first 100 matches in charge of Liverpool.

The Dutchman won the Premier League title in his first season at the club. Right now the Anfield side are still in the running to win titles in the FA Cup and Champions League.

Slot sits alongside legendary player and manager Kenny Dalglish at the top of the list; the Scot also won 62 of his first 100 games. So why doesn’t it “feel” like Liverpool have got the man with the joint-best start in their history in charge?

Some club reporters have been trumpeting Slot’s record - like it’s something for fans to be grateful for.

Yes there is a widespread admiration - and appreciation for that Premier League title. But the goodwill will only last so long - particularly on the back of a record transfer spend of £450m last summer and what's followed.

Following the title win - and the record-breaking summer - Liverpool were supposed to get better. But they’ve got worse.

Arne Slot cruises through first quarter of his tenure

Slot got off to a flyer - reeling off 11 wins in his first 12 matches. The Reds didn’t lose their second game under his tenure until an EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham which was easily corrected in the second.

Their third loss came at PSV in the Champions League after qualification to the round of 16 had been secured following a first-place finish.

But the first quarter of 2025 then began to bring a few wobbles and the signs were becoming apparent that Slot’s halo effect wouldn’t last much longer.

The FA Cup defeat to Plymouth - even with a much-changed team - was alarming. And then a sequence of fixtures really set the tone for the second half of Slot’s reign.

The elimination to Paris Saint-Germain from the Champions League last 16 saw the Reds come off second-best in both legs - despite escaping Paris with a 1-0 victory.

The EFL Cup final defeat to Newcastle bore the first hallmarks of the horrible second season to come.

That - arguably is when the rot first began to set in.

Teams on the second round of Premier League fixtures had by then figured Slot out - and set up accordingly. Liverpool didn’t exactly stumble over the line to win the title; they confirmed it with a very good performance against Spurs.

But they will have been grateful for the advantage that Slot built for them in the first third of the season in particular - when Manchester City imploded.

Unsustainable results

However the club effectively gave up in the final four matches of the season once the title was confirmed. The players went off to the UAE to celebrate. Slot - characteristically - went to Ibiza. Fans had a good laugh about it at the time but it’s not so funny now.

Liverpool had four fixtures - against good teams - to close the season out. It could have been a time to deploy different systems; to use those matches as a mini “pre-pre-season”. But Liverpool were already on the beach. Quite literally.

By the time the new season rolled around - with plenty of new players in the side - they were clearly not the same team. Of course the devastating loss of Diogo Jota through the summer must be mentioned here as a factor.

Jamie Carragher warned Slot on live TV that his midfield was too open - that it was going to get caught on the transition. And so it’s proven.

Liverpool won their first five games of the Premier League season amid shouts of “unsustainable FC”. There was no way they could continue to rely on late winners to bail them out when performances were uneven. Again that prediction has bitten hard.

Starting with the loss against Crystal Palace in September Liverpool’s results have been a coin flip. They don’t have sufficient control of matches. They cannot implement a system to carve out the same kinds of chances again and again.

They are relying on mistakes - or a piece of magic - to win them matches. And of course it cannot go on like that.

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Liverpool matches are a coin-flip

They lost FOUR in a row for a total of nine losses in 12. There were good performances through the autumn - Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Madrid come to mind but a run like that would have finished a non-title-winning manager off.

Defeats to Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup and - particularly - against PSV in the Champions League were unacceptable. And those were at Anfield too.

Aaron Briggs came and went as Slot decided it was set-pieces where the difference would be made. Then it was Mo Salah's fault - with Slot putting him on the sidelines.

But these fixes only last so long.

Fans know what they are watching; they cannot be deceived by the “62 wins from 100” calls in the media.

To put Slot’s record another way Liverpool have NOT won 24 of their second set of 50 matches under his leadership. Every game is 50/50 notwithstanding the calibre of the opposition.

After their title win - and transfer spend - the club were set up to reign at the top for a few seasons at least. But the wheels have come off for Slot.

There is a clear difference in how he started and how the club have continued since about February of 2025. Don’t bank on him making it to 200. And - if he does - he is likely to win far fewer than 62 in his next century of games.