Arne Slot applauds the Liverpool fans at Villa Park (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
There’s no sugar-coating it, Liverpool have been awful this season, as summed up with their 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa last night.
The Reds were well-beaten after looking shaky at the back yet again, and now their hopes of Champions League qualification are genuinely on the line, even if they should still just about scrape through.
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These stats, however, will make for absolutely grim reading for Liverpool fans, and only strengthen the ever-growing belief that Arne Slot’s time as manager should be up…
- Liverpool have now lost 20 games in all competitions this season – their joint-highest ever
- Liverpool have conceded 52 league goals – their highest ever in a 38-game season
- Liverpool have lost seven and drawn one in their away games vs the top 9 clubs this season
Lord have mercy???? pic.twitter.com/jigyPvYayn
— ?????? (@labxnair) May 15, 2026
Considering how much Liverpool spent on new signings like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz last summer after winning the Premier League title, this dramatic dip in form is pretty extraordinary, and has to be a cause for major concern.
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Qualifying for the Champions League will now be crucial for Liverpool, and a win against Brentford on the final day of the season will do it for them.
However, Bournemouth and Brighton are mathematically still in the race, so if Slot’s side drop points again in their last match then they could lose that spot. When they play this badly, a home game against Brentford doesn’t look like a given by any means.
Should Liverpool stick with Arne Slot?
Slot did a tremendous job in his first season at Anfield, winning the Premier League title pretty comfortably and also reaching the final of the Carabao Cup.
This might give the Dutch tactician a bit more time to prove he can turn things around, but there might also be an argument that it reflects even worse on him that he’s taken the team this far backwards from what looked like such a strong position.
It perhaps also suggests that Slot really just benefited from inheriting Jurgen Klopp’s team and taking advantage of uncharacteristically poor seasons from both Manchester City and Arsenal.
With the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz leaving, and with age catching up with Mohamed Salah, it looks like Slot has been completely unable to deal with this transition and put his own stamp on the LFC squad.
Ollie Watkins admits he enjoyed playing against Liverpool
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins made some rather damning comments after the game as he admitted Liverpool were disjointed at the back, and that he enjoyed playing against them…
?? “They’re disjointed at the back and there’s a lot of space for me to run into”
OIlie Watkins loves scoring against Liverpool ? pic.twitter.com/Ez7PTtcx2x
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 15, 2026
“They’re disjointed at the back and I feel like there’s a lot of space for me to run into. I’m going to get chances against them,” the England international said.
These are not comments you want to hear if you’re a top club, and it’s vital that Slot can lift standards as soon as possible or he will surely face serious pressure in the weeks and months ahead.