Liverpool’s defeat to PSV at Anfield on Wednesday (November 26) makes it nine losses in their last 12 games across all competitions for Arne Slot’s side, a far cry from the side that cantered to a Premier League triumph last season.
Captain Virgil van Dijk flung his hand in the air in what looked like an attempt to catch the ball and the had the nerve to complain when the referee pointed to the spot. Ivan Perisic slotted the penalty beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Dominik Szoboszlai made it 1-1 in the 16th minute, but that’s where the good times ended for Liverpool. Striker Guus Til restored PSV’s lead just after the hour mark and Couhaib Driouech came off the bench to score a brace.
Liverpool have now fallen to 13th in the Champions League league phase and face the very real possibility of a tricky play-off game when all is said and done. Here are three things we learned.
Ibrahima Konate’s head is gone
The Frenchman was one of Liverpool’s best players as they won the Premier League last season, but how things have changed. Konate looked lost in the defeat to PSV, and was directly responsible for their third goal, misjudging the ball and sending Ricardo Pepi through on goal.
Konate’s contract at Liverpool is set to expire at the end of the season and according to several reports, talks over a new one aren’t going anywhere as quickly as the club would like. Of course, that means there are plenty of links to clubs like Real Madrid and PSG.
It’s starting to look like all the speculation is getting to Konate’s head. The centre-back isn’t playing like someone who is desperate to stay at the club and earn a new contract, he’s playing like one that has already decided to leave.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, they don’t have anyone else in the squad that could fill in at a good enough level.
Dominik Szoboszlai can hold his head high
There are very few positives to take from Liverpool’s defeat, or their season so far as a whole, but Szoboszlai remains a rare bright spark for Slot, and he could be the reason his manager keeps his job.
The Hungarian almost single handedly orchestrated Liverpool’s attempted fightback, creating four chances, making seven passes into the final third, and five accurate long balls. If Cody Gakpo and others could finish, we would have been in for an all-time Champions League performance from Szoboszlai.
Szoboszlai will continue doing what the team needs of him. If Slot asks him to fill in at right back, he’ll do it and perform at a level no one would have expected. With Florian Wirtz yet to find any kind of form, however, keeping him in the number ten role would help give Liverpool some much needed balance.
This might be it for Arne Slot
Now, that’s not us saying we think he’s going to get sacked because of this result, the Liverpool board will still give him some time to try and turn it around, that outcome is just looking unlikely after this result.
Seven goals conceded across their last two home games is unheard of for Liverpool, and the boos that rang out after the final whistle are indicative of how those match going fans feel. Those in the stadium are usually more willing to give a manager time than the keyboard warriors, but Slot is losing them too.
It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what is going wrong at Liverpool, more than anything it looks like a crisis of confidence. This is uncharted territory for Slot, and perhaps a change of manager would at the very least lift the mood at the club.