Arne Slot’s Liverpool future was never reliant on the FA Cup, but his reign is in danger of unraveling

The setting was an opulent govt field at Fenway Park, residence of baseball’s Boston Red Sox, in July 2012.

Liverpool’s principal proprietor John W Henry took a seat, having granted a uncommon interview to these of us from the Merseyside media who have been protecting the membership’s pre-season tour of North America.

Two months earlier, Liverpool’s Fenway Sports Group (FSG) possession had sacked a membership icon in supervisor Kenny Dalglish and subsequently appointed Brendan Rodgers as his alternative. In that 2011-12 marketing campaign, Liverpool had received the League Cup and narrowly misplaced the FA Cup ultimate to Chelsea but trailed residence a disappointing eighth in the Premier League.

“The FA Cup wouldn’t have made any difference had he won it,” Henry stated bluntly. “I thought it was obvious to every Liverpool fan that something was wrong and something needed to be done.”

FSG’s perspective in the direction of the home cups has not modified in the close to 14 years since. Now greater than ever, qualifying for the Champions League is seen as way more essential, given the income doing so generates.

Winning the FA Cup wouldn’t have saved Arne Slot’s job this summer time, in the similar manner as bowing out of the competitors at the quarter-final stage on Saturday won’t significantly affect how this troubled season is seen by his bosses at FSG.

However, it is the method of the humiliating 4-0 quarter-final defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium that ought to set alarm bells ringing on each side of the Atlantic.

After a brilliant begin, Liverpool capitulated, conceding 4 instances in the area of 20 minutes both facet of half-time. The undeniable fact that no additional embarrassment was inflicted extra to City easing off than any discernible enchancment from the guests.

Slot’s Liverpool look so brittle, so damaged. Rather than dig deep when confronted with adversity, they wilt. The “mentality monsters” the Dutchman’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp used to speak about now resemble mentality minnows. The physique language is so poor — too many gamers feeling sorry for themselves reasonably than taking accountability.

Dominik Szoboszlai bemoaned the lack of “fighting spirit” afterwards, and what was most galling about that damaging spell in the match when Liverpool fell to items was the incapability to do even the fundamentals.

“If you tell me that from 15 runs City made, we didn’t follow them 15 times, then I don’t agree with you,” Slot stated.

“But if you simply look at the goals, I see runs not being followed, I see crosses not being blocked, I see duels not being won. Every single time we forget to block a cross or follow a runner, then it was a goal. No one will remember it, but in the first 35 minutes, there was a lot to like from my team.”

The rot set in after Virgil van Dijk’s rash problem on Nico O’Reilly allowed Erling Haaland to interrupt the impasse from the penalty spot. Florian Wirtz failed to trace Antoine Semenyo in the build-up to the second aim, with Ibrahima Konate overwhelmed far too simply in the air by Haaland.

The third was even worse, with Joe Gomez inexplicably gifting the ball to Marc Guehi from a Liverpool throw-in. Two passes later, Semenyo was operating in behind Van Dijk to attain. The fourth noticed Slot’s facet plumb higher depths with O’Reilly allowed to waltz via and tee up Haaland to finish his hat-trick.

What a nightmare begins to a season-defining run of fixtures. A way of trepidation will accompany Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg towards holders Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue might be licking their lips at the sight of such obtrusive frailties.

The buck stops with Slot. The ease with which opponents are in a position to play via Liverpool factors to obtrusive tactical points. He’s been unable to search out options to the issues which have dogged his soon-to-be-deposed Premier League champions all season and excuses are sporting skinny.

“Again, we faced a team that was outperforming their xG (expected goals) by a mile, and that’s happening constantly. We are always under ours,” he stated on Saturday. “It would be nice if we could score a goal once in a while from the chances we create.”

Yes, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike have been responsible of lacking massive alternatives when it was 0-0, with the former’s depressing afternoon summed up by his failure to transform a second-half penalty.

But City, who created an xG of 2.5 versus 1.4 for the guests, have been slicker, faster, confirmed higher starvation and have been extra ruthless in all departments. Given how Liverpool have gone toe-to-toe with City all through a lot of the Pep Guardiola period, the chasm that has opened up between the sides this season is alarming.

Liverpool have misplaced the three conferences by a mixed rating of 9 targets to at least one. That’s some fall from grace having completed the double over City en path to the title a yr in the past.

The most damning indictment of what they served up at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon was the sight of away supporters heading for the exits earlier than the hour mark, after City went 4 up. You might hardly blame them, given how badly that they had been let down.

It was a tough afternoon for Liverpool followers at the Etihad (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

“We don’t want them to leave early. We have to perform better,” Slot stated. “It is up to us to react for them and for ourselves.”

This was Liverpool’s fifteenth defeat of the marketing campaign in all competitions — their most since 2014-15, when the wheels got here off Rodgers’ reign. That was the season that started with Luis Suarez’s departure to Barcelona, ​​once they made a hash of changing him with the signings of Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert.

Saturday was the heaviest loss of Slot’s close to two-season reign, but the fifth time in 2025-26 that Liverpool have been overwhelmed by three targets or extra.

The mitigating components have been effectively documented, but the supervisor continues to haemorrhage help amongst the fanbase. Some pointedly chanted the identify of Xabi Alonso, the former Liverpool midfielder turned coach who is obtainable after being fired by Real Madrid in January, as they made their manner out of the Etihad.

FSG needs to provide the Dutchman the likelihood to place issues proper subsequent season, but that place might be untenable if the marketing campaign utterly unravels in the coming weeks.

That interval straight after half-time right here was the most worrying. Whatever Slot stated in the dressing room throughout the break clearly did not hit residence as Liverpool bought worse reasonably than higher. He was additionally too gradual to make substitutions.

Now it is Champions League or bust.

Bringing a seventh European Cup to Anfield in May appears fanciful. Securing the top-five end his workforce must play in UEFA’s blue-riband membership competitors once more subsequent season seems daunting sufficient with the fixtures they’ve left — the seven matches embrace journeys to Everton (at the moment three factors behind them in eighth), Manchester United (third) and Aston Villa (fourth), plus residence video games with Chelsea (sixth) and Brentford (seventh).

Can Slot summon a response from the wreckage of such an abject give up?

Liverpool’s illustrious European historical past is suffering from heroic tales.

Given their present plight, they may want one other miracle to get previous PSG.