FILE PHOTO: Liverpool sacked manager Arne Slot just 12 months after leading the side to the Premier League title. | Photo Credit: AP

Arne Slot’s writing was on the wall at Liverpool amidst a tumultuous Premier League season, when outgoing club legend Mohamed Salah caught the headlines, not with his dazzling feet but by the use of his phone, on May 17.

Post the defeat to Aston Villa, Salah publicly criticised the manager’s style, calling for Liverpool to return to the ‘heavy metal attacking’ football, amid growing discontent among supporters with Slot. The post on X ultimately set the ball rolling for the Dutchman’s sacking, despite leading the club to a 20th league crown just 12 months ago.

In what was set to be a period of transition with five incomings and the exit of key figures Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold, the club was jolted by the shock loss of Diogo Jota, who tragically passed away in July. Slot’s efforts have been recognised by the club in helping it pull together amidst a state of mourning. The emotional toll on the club, which several players have referenced throughout the campaign, cannot be discounted.

In the transfer window, Slot got backing of over £450 million to refresh the squad, which included two British record transfer signings in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.

Liverpool started off strongly with five straight wins, marked with defensive vulnerabilities, which ultimately were signs of things to come. From being title contenders, the club meandered along before squeezing its way into a Champions League-place finish. In the last 33 matches, Liverpool picked up just 45 points, shipping 53 goals – the eighth worst defensive record in the division — the most the club has conceded since 1993-94. The Reds endured a poor run across all fronts to finish trophyless.

Slot wasn’t helped with the injuries to the backline, which included new signing Giovanni Leoni (49 matches missed), Conor Bradley (31), Jeremie Frimpong (22) and Alisson Becker (20). Injuries to forwards Isak (28) and Hugo Ekitike (8) also hurt the club in attack as it scored just 63 goals, the same as it managed in 2016-17.

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While the style of football in the league was moving towards a more robust, physical nature with more focus on set-pieces, Slot didn’t seem to veer towards the trend. Instead, he was quite snippy about it. “Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it. Now most of the games I see in the Premier League are not, for me, a joy to watch,” he noted.

His indifference towards it translated to Liverpool’s record on the pitch. Liverpool’s set-piece record was accentuated by Dominik Szoboszlai’s mastery from free-kicks, netting four of them, but its overall record from dead balls was among the poorest in the league. According to The Athletic, the Reds scored over 5.5 goals per 100 set pieces, while conceding 7.3 goals per 100 set plays — the poorest record in the league.

Slot’s biggest risk, however, came from within the dressing room, when Salah, a key architect of Liverpool’s title success from the previous season, turned on him mid-season. While Salah racked up 47 goal involvements in 2024-25, he finished with just a combined total of 14 this campaign. While the pair put the matter behind them in January, Salah, managed to provide his best ‘assist’ of the season with his social media post, which seems to have led to Slot’s sacking.

Published on May 30, 2026