“It Reeks of Impending Change” – National Media can’t See Arne Slot Recovering

Liverpool nor Arne Slot could hide from the damning verdict served by the English press in the aftermath of the heaviest defeat under the Dutchman.

The Reds’ first trip to the Etihad Stadium this season was one to forget, but somehow, the second was worse and showed zero signs of any improvement or lessons learned.

The verdict from the watching media was damning after the 4-0 defeat at Man City.

Arne Slot’s future under national media scrutiny after embarrassing loss

ESPN‘s Beth Lindop was one of several to address Slot’s future at Anfield, highlighting a “disillusioned fanbase” and the difficulty of making a “compelling case” for him to remain:

“While it is true there has been an enormous amount of mitigation for Liverpool’s poor campaign, the consistently dismal performances and patchy results make it hard to argue a compelling case for Slot to remain in his post for the long-term.

“Should Liverpool suffer a similarly humiliating exit in the Champions League, it is difficult to see how he recovers the support of an already disillusioned fanbase.”

And while the Mail‘s Dominic King no longer covers the club as extensively as he once did, even he stated on X that “it reeks of impending change”:

“The situation in a nutshell: when Liverpool go a goal down now, nobody believes they will turn the game around. As soon as Man City went ahead, it was all over. Already, the idea of a positive result in Paris has been discounted by everyone. It reeks of impending change.”

The Liverpool Echo‘s Paul Gorst summed up the feeling of trepidation ahead of the trip to Paris – as what evidence do we have to expect a different outcome?

“Rather than offer Slot’s paymasters some evidence that something special could still be retrieved from an increasingly grotesque campaign, this was a day that only emboldened the swelling numbers who believe a change in the dugout is required to fix this mess.

“Those whose glasses are half full will argue that Wednesday’s visit to PSG presents a chance to immediately put things right. However, given the evisceration at the hands of City here, how much confidence is there in avoiding a similar fate at the home of the current champions of Europe?”

There was an appreciated look at Slot’s tactical weakness from the Times‘ Jonathan Northcroft, which often sees his strategies go “up in the air”:

“Where does this leave Slot? ‘Sacked in the morning’, the home supporters sang and the Dutchman is in a crisis that only results can pull him out of.

“His system had not appeared convincing: 4-2-2-2, with the strikers — Ekitike and Salah — split wide and Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai as No. 10s. This allowed for some good patterns in build-up play, but out of possession was a mess.”

With few signs of improvement or a clear trajectory of where the team is headed, the Mail‘s Lewis Steele struggles to see Slot turn it around, with Liverpool only “getting worse”:

“That from LFC was the lowest ebb of this rotten season and an insult to the 7,600 fans. OK first half an hour but zero fight after 1-0. Buck stops ultimately with Arne Slot and I struggle to see him turning it around. If anything, they’re getting worse.

“Players not exempt from criticism and blame. So much quality in the squad but no one seems to have answers. Scoreline flattered them. How many weak, uninspiring performances have they had this year? Embarrassing all round today.”

In his post-match column Steele writes:

“Forget any talk of a ‘transition’ year, that is a lame excuse only used in hindsight. This was supposed to be the time when they began building a dynasty.”

The consensus on Slot continued with the Independent‘s Richard Jolly acknowledging his prospects of staying in charge were dealt a hefty blow:

“For Liverpool, unless a bedraggled, beaten group can somehow recover to claim the Champions League, starting with the first leg of their quarter-final against holders Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, it will be a season without silverware.

“For Slot, already aware some of the Liverpool support want him gone, the soundtrack was of City fans chorusing ‘sacked in the morning’. And if their timescale is inaccurate, it was scarcely a result to enhance Slot’s prospects of remaining in charge for next season.”

There was more of a wider outlook for the Guardian‘s Jamie Jackson, who considered the wider repercussions of where Slot could go next:

“The beleaguered Slot knows the heaviest defeat handed to his Liverpool will damage his job prospects because next up is Wednesday’s date at the European champions, Paris Saint-Germain; if they go down in similar manner in the Champions League quarter-final, then the owners may have a decision to make.”

Mo Salah struggles in first game of farewell tour

“If this was the start of Salah’s farewell tour, it is fair to assume his final act will not do justice to what has been one of the all-time great Liverpool careers.

“There had been an expectation in some quarters that, having announced he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season, Salah’s final weeks on Merseyside would afford him the chance to play with more freedom and ingenuity. So far, it does not look like that will be the case.”

“Van Dijk has been one of Liverpool’s best players in a season of very few good performers for the reigning league champions, but the Netherlands centre-back has had a handful of poor games – and this was another.”

For all of Salah’s mistakes, Northcroft sought to highlight that at least the Egyptian “showed up,” unlike “certain teammates”:

“Salah was a pale shadow: he could have scored four but missed a penalty of his own, and a spate of straightforward chances.

“At least Salah showed up. Certain team-mates barely did, Liverpool’s intensity levels worrying low for a side who should be full of desperation to save their season and are about to face Paris Saint-Germain.”

Source: www.thisisanfield.com