Liverpool manager Arne Slot and talisman Mohamed Salah have both come under fire with the Premier League champions in crisis after a woeful season so far
Liverpool’s Arne Slot is under mounting pressure at Anfield(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Liverpool are hoping to bounce back from yet another defeat when they face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Saturday’s crushing 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest has plunged the reigning Premier League champions into the bottom half of the table and virtually killed off any lingering hopes of retaining their title. It marked their sixth defeat in seven league matches and their second straight 3-0 hammering.
To add insult to injury, Liverpool have dropped below Merseyside rivals Everton, who leapfrogged them on goal difference following their 1-0 victory over Manchester United, who were humiliated at Old Trafford by 10 men on Monday evening.
The heat isn’t merely mounting on Arne Slot – it’s threatening to consume him entirely – and the Dutchman must reverse this alarming slide rapidly to prevent losing what seemed an unshakeable position just weeks earlier. Here’s all the latest news from Anfield.
Arne Slot branded ‘classless’
Liverpool manager Arne Slot enjoyed a ‘Champions’ party at O Beach in Ibiza before last season ended(Image: Instagram/waynelineker)
Paul Scholes has slammed Arne Slot’s end-of-season jaunt to Ibiza as “classless” and “disrespectful,” claiming Liverpool’s downfall this campaign might stem from the relaxed culture that seemed to pervade the club during that period, reports the Mirror.
The Dutch boss sparked controversy in May when he was photographed in a DJ booth on the Spanish isle, despite Liverpool still having two fixtures remaining in the 2024/25 season.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Manchester United legend Scholes pulled no punches in his criticism of Slot’s conduct.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool just keep on losing(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
He said: “I think this [Liverpool’s poor form] started towards the end of last season. Remember when they won the league? The bad form started.
“They went away, weren’t they in Ibiza or something? Arne Slot was DJing. Yeah, he was DJing in Ibiza. I think that’s disrespectful. Before the season’s done, I think it’s classless, that.”
While Scholes fell short of directly attributing Liverpool’s current woes to the Ibiza getaway, he maintained the warning signs were evident during the final stretch of last season and the Reds ought to have taken greater notice.
Salah slated
Mohamed Salah has looked a pale imitation of his usual self this season for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool icon Graeme Souness has unleashed a scathing attack on Mohamed Salah following the Egyptian striker’s lacklustre beginning to the campaign.
Having bagged 34 goals across all competitions last term, Salah has battled to rediscover his form, managing just fives goals in 17 games so far.
While recognising that Liverpool’s problems extend beyond any single player, Souness targeted Salah for “not turning up,” accusing the star man of dodging his duties when his side desperately require him to step up and guide from the front.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “I think it’s his brother who has turned up this season. I saw an incident in the Community Shield – I’m looking for little signals – he had his back to the sideline and a ball is played up towards the Crystal Palace left-back.
“He’s not going to win it, he’s not the most physical type, but he could at least go and try and make life difficult for the full-back. He made no attempt to make that challenge.
“He’s shown a lack of appetite. I’m sorry but hard words are sometimes the kindest words and I think he needs hard words and ultimately they’ll get him back to being the superstar that he’s been for Liverpool.
“This season he has not turned up.”
