{"id":581166,"date":"2026-04-04T06:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/581166\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T06:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:21:16","slug":"five-matches-16-days-a-season-to-save-slots-liverpool-vision-faces-a-defining-moment-liverpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/581166\/","title":{"rendered":"Five matches, 16 days, a season to save: Slot\u2019s Liverpool vision faces a defining moment | Liverpool"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were more important reasons for J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s return to Liverpool last Saturday<\/a>, but it was apposite his presence reminded Anfield of the unshakable bond and belief they once shared, the joy his football brought. Those pillars of Klopp\u2019s reign are weakening under Arne Slot and April may determine whether they are left standing at all.<\/p>\n

Two cup quarter-finals in succession should signal a season on the right track for Liverpool; showpiece occasions such as Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday whetting the appetite for what May could have in store.<\/p>\n

It could yet bring redemption to a miserable title defence, with Mohamed Salah eyeing the exit <\/a>a legend deserves and Dominik Szoboszlai on a mission to haul Liverpool to a Champions League final in his native Hungary.<\/p>\n

But where recently there was a conviction that anything is achievable, not only under Klopp but in Slot\u2019s title-winning debut season, Liverpool\u2019s inconsistent form does nothing to inspire confidence for the demanding cup assignments. Champions League qualification, so essential to the club\u2019s business model, and well within reach given fifth place in the Premier League is likely to suffice and Chelsea\u2019s deterioration under Liam Rosenior, is also at risk. Six of Liverpool\u2019s seven remaining league games are against teams in the current top nine. A potentially defining sequence of five matches in 16 days ends with the first Merseyside derby at Everton\u2019s Hill Dickinson Stadium.<\/p>\n

Before then, and whether at the Etihad, the Parc des Princes, Anfield or all three, Slot must show an increasing number of dissenters and doubters that his vision for a team in transition can succeed. Patience has been stretched not only by the football on offer this season. Last week\u2019s announcement that most ticket prices will rise in line with inflation for the next three seasons, capped at 5%, was met with dismay by supporters of a club that posted record overall revenue of \u00a3703m and the highest wage bill in the Premier League in its most recent set of accounts.<\/p>\n

Read the room, you might say, except Liverpool\u2019s supporters\u2019 board were in the room when ticket prices were being discussed and their objections to the increases went ignored.<\/p>\n

That added strain arrived at the end of a month when Liverpool produced one impressive result and performance, the 4-0 dismantling of Galatasaray<\/a> in the second leg of the Champions League last 16. Galatasaray were admittedly feeble at Anfield, but that did not detract from the intensity and cutting edge on show. It was a glimpse of what could be, but that display was the outlier in March.<\/p>\n

Slot tried hard not to puncture the upbeat mood that night, but insisted it was unrealistic to expect a repeat performance at Brighton given the two-day turnaround. He has questioned Liverpool\u2019s ability to cope with three games a week all season and his fears were realised by another defeat, Liverpool\u2019s 10th of the Premier League campaign, that added weight to criticism of fitness levels, efficiency in front of goal and organisation.<\/p>\n

The same was true of their defeat by bottom-placed Wolves<\/a> and in the home draw against Tottenham<\/a>, a result that was bad at the time, but looks embarrassing with hindsight on Igor Tudor\u2019s short, ill-judged tenure.<\/p>\n

There is no imminent threat to Slot\u2019s position. Internally, from the owner, Fenway Sports Group, to the sporting director, Richard Hughes, there is recognition of the unprecedented challenges this season has presented, starting with the death of Diogo Jota<\/a>. Injuries have prevented last summer\u2019s ambitious transfer strategy from ever taking shape, several new recruits have struggled and established players such as Salah to Alexis Mac Allister have endured downturns to an extent few could have envisaged.<\/p>\n

Last season showed the true Slot, not this one, the Liverpool hierarchy hope, and a title-winning coach deserves the opportunity to prove as much.<\/p>\n

Hugo Ekitik\u00e9 and his Liverpool teammates during a training session on Thursday. Photograph: Andrew Powell\/Liverpool FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Their resolve, however, will be severely tested should Liverpool\u2019s decline be exposed by City and PSG and the team fail to secure Champions League qualification. Champions League revenue is vital for what is expected to be another busy summer in the transfer market. An entirely new right flank is just one requirement, with Salah going, Conor Bradley\u2019s rich promise stifled by injuries and Jeremie Frimpong lasting 13 minutes of the Netherlands\u2019 friendly against Ecuador on Tuesday before injury struck again.<\/p>\n

Slot has underperformed, along with his team, this season. His idea is to control matches by controlling possession, but while Liverpool\u2019s possession stats are up, compared with the title-winning campaign, they have been exposed repeatedly in transition. Slot has not found a solution. What may rescue the 47-year-old in the final reckoning is what has worked against him from day one: the form and fitness of Alexander Isak.<\/p>\n

The most expensive piece of Liverpool\u2019s near-\u00a3450m recruitment drive last summer \u2013 \u201cBut we\u2019ve sold \u00a3300m since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d a Dutchman screams in the distance \u2013 was bought to provide the penetration Slot felt his team lacked towards the end of last season and establish a devastating rapport with Florian Wirtz. A double act costing a potential \u00a3241m has barely been seen, playing together for merely 436 minutes and combining for one goal. That, in December\u2019s win at Spurs<\/a>, resulted in Isak suffering a fractured fibula<\/a> and ankle injury from Micky van de Ven\u2019s challenge.<\/p>\n

Isak returned to team training on Thursday<\/a> and, despite signs of improvement before his injury, will have much to prove when he returns to competitive action. The next few weeks would be an ideal time for the first repayment on Liverpool\u2019s \u00a3125m investment fee<\/a> (plus six-year contract).<\/p>\n

Alexander Isak (left) is back in training with Virgil van Dijk and co after more than three months out. Photograph: Andrew Powell\/Liverpool FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Slot regularly excused Isak\u2019s slow start on account of the striker missing pre-season while forcing his acrimonious departure from Newcastle. The excuse did not wash at the time and, while it would have more credibility after a serious injury, Isak \u2013 and Wirtz \u2013 need to produce as a matter of urgency. It would reflect badly on the recruitment of Hughes and Michael Edwards, FSG\u2019s chief executive of football, to sack Slot without seeing whether their grand plan of last summer can come to fruition.<\/p>\n

Slot has a disillusioned fanbase to placate, starting with the visit to a City team buoyant after their League Cup final victory over Arsenal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There were only positives to Klopp\u2019s return. The main attraction at a charity game between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund legends, his presence helped draw a sellout crowd of 60,482 that raised more than \u00a31m for LFC Foundation. Liverpool\u2019s official charity will use the funds to develop employability programmes across the city region and internationally.<\/p>\n

The adoration for Liverpool\u2019s former manager inadvertently brought into focus the frostiness towards Slot, less than a year after he guided the club to a record\u2011equalling 20th league title.<\/p>\n

That triumph exceeded all expectations in the aftermath of Klopp\u2019s exit, although expectations change when reigning champions spends almost \u00a3450m on fresh talent and Liverpool have fallen short all season. There remains enough quality to save it, however.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There were more important reasons for J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s return to Liverpool last Saturday, but it was apposite his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-581166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}