Liverpool’s woeful season plunged to new depths on Wednesday as PSV Eindhoven stormed to a stunning 4–1 victory at Anfield in the Champions League.
Arne Slot’s side fell behind to an early Ivan Perisic penalty, and although Dominik Szoboszlai briefly restored parity, the equaliser did little to spark the Reds into life.
Second-half strikes from Guus Til and a brace from Couhaib Driouech condemned the Premier League champions to their ninth defeat in their last 12 matches across all competitions. It is Liverpool’s worst run of form since the 1953–54 campaign, fuelling growing pressure on the embattled Slot as boos echoed around Anfield after the final whistle.
Following a 3–0 home loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Liverpool have now suffered three straight defeats, conceding 10 goals in those games. Once tipped to dominate again after last season’s title triumph and a heavy summer outlay, they now find themselves languishing in 12th place in the Premier League — their first time in the bottom half for over a decade — ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham.
Their Champions League prospects look equally bleak. This was their second defeat in five group-stage matches and their first home loss at this phase of the competition in five years. The Reds currently sit 13th in the league phase standings, with only the top eight guaranteed a place in the last 16.
Slot admitted on Tuesday that he felt “guilty” about Liverpool’s “ridiculous” slump, but the Dutchman appears short of solutions. As the match drifted away in the closing stages, swathes of empty seats inside Anfield told their own story of the fans’ frustration.
Fragile Liverpool
Slot opted to leave British record signing Alexander Isak on the bench after another goalless outing last weekend, but the change made little difference. Liverpool became the first English side to lose at home to PSV since 2008.
The Reds lacked intensity, lost key individual battles, struggled to break down PSV’s compact defensive shape, and were repeatedly exposed on the counterattack. Even captain Virgil van Dijk, who had urged his teammates to take “individual responsibility,” was at fault for the opener. The defender blocked a corner with a raised arm, and despite protests that he had been fouled, a penalty was awarded and calmly dispatched by Perisic in front of a stunned Kop.
Liverpool responded 10 minutes later. Cody Gakpo’s driving run ended with a shot parried by Matej Kovar, allowing Szoboszlai to sweep in a first-time finish from 12 yards.
Van Dijk almost redeemed himself shortly afterwards, glancing a header against the bar from a Mohamed Salah corner, while Kovar denied Hugo Ekitike from close range before halftime.
But Liverpool’s pressure fizzled out after the break, and defensive lapses once again proved costly. In the 56th minute, Mauro Junior threaded a superb pass behind the back line, allowing Milos Kerkez to set up Til for a composed finish past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Gakpo then headed wastefully over from Szoboszlai’s pinpoint cross before the evening descended into farce. Ibrahima Konate misplayed a simple pass, gifting the ball to Ricardo Pepi, whose shot rebounded off the post to Driouech for an easy tap-in in the 73rd minute.
Liverpool’s collapse was complete in stoppage time when Sergiño Dest powered down the right and squared for Driouech, who drilled home his second to seal a humiliation that deepens the crisis at Anfield.
AFP
