Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon brought up a number of unwanted milestones for the Premier League champions.
The victory was the Red Devils’ first at Anfield for almost a decade, while the four-match losing streak that Arne Slot’s men currently find themselves in is their worst run of form since November 2014, back when Brendan Rodgers was manager.
This latest setback has seen Liverpool slip to fourth place in the Premier League table, four points behind early leaders Arsenal, with the club facing a daunting run of fixtures that sees them play six times across three competitions over the next 20 days.
Liverpool board issue new Arne Slot demand
After leading the club to the Premier League title in his first season, it is clear that Slot has plenty of credit in the bank, but after being backed to the tune of £420 million in the transfer market this summer, the Dutchman will know that he must get his side’s title campaign back on track sooner rather than later.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, the Reds board ‘demands that Arne Slot stabilise the performance before the continuity of the project is endangered’.
The report cites a number of challenges that Slot will be looking to get on top of, primarily integrating his summer signings, including £116m playmaker Florian Wirtz and £125m striker Alexander Isak.
Should that pair start firing, then the club’s offensive struggles will quickly become a thing of the past, while another issue mentioned is vulnerability from set-pieces.
Also raised in this dispatch is the reduction of Andy Robertson’s role and changes to the team’s system in what they describe as ‘the most complicated moment of his career at Liverpool’.
Slot will look to get his side back to winning ways on Wednesday evening, when he takes his side to Germany to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.
In FourFourTwo’s view, this report hinting at dissatisfaction from the Reds board seems premature at the very least, as the club is not known for its kneejerk reactions.
Given the amount of squad turnover this summer, it’s hardly surprising that time is needed to bed in these new players. And while, yes, a defeat at home to this current Manchester United side is a huge blot on Slot’s copybook, the Dutchman should be confident he has the ability to turn things around at speed.
