Arne Slot: Liverpool manager under increasing pressure after FA Cup capitulation
After losing at Brighton two weeks ago, Liverpool and Slot were hoping the international break would provide the needed reset before a final push until the end of the season.
The announcement of Mohamed Salah’s departure in the summer, while significant, was not a surprise and galvanized fans and players alike, offering the potential for a memorable send-off for a club legend.
On top of that, the return of club record-breaking Alexander Isak to team training after more than three months gave another impetus.
But 92 minutes spent in Manchester quickly added to such optimism and the number of potential trophies that could grace Salah’s farewell quickly halved.
Even the consolation goal, which saw Salah save his second-half penalty, was beyond them – a moment Slot admitted “probably pretty much sums up today and probably our season”.
“To be embarrassed like they did today is to stick with them,” former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin added on BBC Radio 5 Live.
As difficult as it may be, Slot must find a way to rally his players before kick-off in Paris on Wednesday evening.
Another miserable defeat could end Liverpool’s hopes of progressing before the second leg, at which point the season could become just a scramble to get back into the Champions League next season.
Despite all the mitigations Slot could point to this season’s problems (injury issues, a severely disrupted pre-season, an unbalanced squad and, above all, the tragic death of Diogo Jota), failure to do so would leave him extremely vulnerable.
“We must react to this defeat and this disappointing season,” he said. “There is a chance for us on Wednesday. Today we showed that we can race for just 35 minutes.
“We can get positive results from these 35 minutes, but if we defend like we did after 20 minutes, we will have a big problem. This is what we have to solve.”
Time is quickly running out for Slot to find these solutions and salvage something from Liverpool’s season.
We don’t yet know what this means for his future, but those joyful scenes of last spring certainly seem so long ago now.
