What's gone wrong for Liverpool this season?

Liverpool's season continued to unravel this week as they suffered two damaging defeats in the final quests to land some silverware in what's been a difficult second campaign in charge for Arne Slot. 

Last weekend they were comprehensively beaten by Manchester City, which saw them dumped out of the FA Cup, and that was followed by Wednesday night's defeat in Paris in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Reds now need another famous night at Anfield to salvage their European campaign as they try to claw back a 2-0 deficit, which actually could have been a lot worse. 

With only now a top-five place looking like the best they can hope for in 2025-26, what has led to such a downturn for the reigning Premier League champions?  

Too much, too soon?

It was always going to be a tall order to be the man who followed in Jurgen Klopp's footsteps. As we've seen from Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger's immediate replacements, replicating success can be a tough act to follow. 

However, Arne Slot bucked that trend last term by winning the Premier League in his first season in charge. An unexpected triumph for the rookie Premier League boss, and a win that led the club to double down on the championship, he tried to take the club to another level with their summer activity.

Having been one of the more prudent spenders of the top six in the last couple of campaigns, the Mersysiders splashed a whopping £300m on recruiting some marquee signings in Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. 

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The recruitment drive was seen by many as one that would blow the rest of the league away, but it's had the opposite effect, with several individual issues leaving Slot unable to decide on the best balance for his new-look side. 

Wirtz took time to settle and find a role in the Liverpool side, while Kerkez and Frimpong are yet to show they are ready to step up and take the place of the Reds' high-quality full-backs of the previous era. 

Then there's record-signing Alexander Isak. Arriving having had very little pre-season, the Swede struggled to get up to speed before an ankle injury curtailed a large chunk of his season. 

What was supposed to be a selection of world-class arrivals aimed at taking the club to the next level has actually turned out to be too much change too soon, and caused several unwanted headaches for the Liverpool coach. 

A defence in transition 

What wasn't actually addressed in the summer was bolstering the club's defensive options. Two new full-backs may have arrived, but it's in the centre of the defence where they are still too light for a team that had ambitions on four fronts. 

Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk went into the season as first choice, but when Konate's form fell off a cliff in the first half of the season, there were few options for Slot to tinker with, and he had to persevere with the player. 

The Frenchman has turned his season around, but more recently it's been skipper Van Dijk who's looked more vulnerable. The Dutchman has been way below his imperial best in 2025-26, culminating in his performance against Man City last weekend, where he couldn't cope with Erling Haaland and the City attack.

Of course, things may have been different for both centre-backs if they were afforded more of a rest. However, with the failure to land Marc Guehi last summer and the injury to highly rated Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez has been the only alternate as an option. 

The backline has also struggled with the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold, despite the questions always aimed at his defensive ability and Andy Robertson, who has only played a bit-part role this campaign. 

Then there's the late goals. With the defence not in sync and the two centre-backs stretched over so many games, teams have found a way to grind Liverpool down right at the death this year. 

They've lost five Premier League games to stoppage-time goals, the most any team has suffered in a single season in Premier League history. Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The end of an era 

In recent seasons, and particularly even last year, when Liverpool hadn't been playing well, they often turned to Mo Salah to get them out of trouble. However, this term, he hasn't been the same player. 

Those game-changing moments and bursts of energy from the Egyptian have been rare in 2025-26, with a drop-off that's seen him score just five Premier League goals and six assists this season. When you consider he netted 29 last season, it's a massive chunk of goals to lose from a team. 

It's almost like last year was the final act of Salah's incredible legacy at Anfield, and having squeezed everything he had out of himself, this campaign has almost totally passed him by - even though his club are still crying out for his kind of input and missing that X Factor. 

Salah's downturn has also not been helped by an attack in which Cody Gakpo has failed to deliver the same kind of output as the now-departed Luis Diaz. 

 

Slot to survive? 

The ramifications of Liverpool's dismal season could be severe. 

Failing a Champions League turnaround next week, the club will only have qualification for next year's competition to show for 2025-26. A scant reward for a season that promised so much after such an investment in the summer.

The ultimate fall guy could be Slot, however. There have already been calls for the Dutchman to be replaced, as he has been unable to find answers this season to his side's ongoing issues. 

With club legend Xabi Alonso seemingly waiting in the wings to swoop in when need be, Slot really needs at least a top-five finish to put a full stop on his failed second season and hope he gets the chance to put Liverpool back on their perch next term.

How to watch the Premier League in Canada

Soccer fans in Canada can watch every Premier League match during the 2025-26 season on DAZN.

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For pricing information and to sign up to watch, click here.