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17 hours ago
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Liverpool may be fourth in the Premier League table, just four points behind leaders Arsenal, but Sunday's loss to Manchester United was their fourth in a row across all competitions and hinted at a bigger picture problem.
They've been off the mark this season -- but just how has the 2025-26 campaign played out for the defending champions in the early months?
This season started with a bang. Over the summer, Liverpool spent £446 million ($598m) the most ever in a single window by a Premier League club. From defence to attack, every part of the team saw a new addition:
To put this in context, the record fee for Isak was more than 10 Premier League clubs spent across the entire window.
That is in addition to goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who also joined the side after spending last season being loaned back to Valencia. However, they did endure the exit of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid.
After a 2024-25 window which saw them make just one signing (Federico Chiesa, £12.5m) -- and go on to win the title -- Liverpool fans had every reason to be optimistic about their title defence, and a potential push in Europe. These were, after all, heavyweight additions to an already star-studded squad.
Opening day warning signs
Despite a penalty shootout loss to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, the mood at Anfield was understandably optimistic for their Premier League season opener against Bournemouth on Aug 15. And Liverpool started with a swagger that befitted champions.
Hugo Ekitike scored on home debut and was pulling the strings in attack. When Cody Gakpo made it 2-0 in the 49th minute, all looked well... until Antoine Semenyo's brace pulled the game level by the 76th minute. It was a spell in which Liverpool's confidence seemed to vanish, and their defense crumbled.
Chiesa, who was outcast last season, came on and scored in the 88th minute before Mohamed Salah added gloss to the scoreline and paid a lovely tribute to late teammate Diogo Jota in celebration.
The final score of 4-2 looked great on paper, but anyone watching knew the scoreline had flattered the winners.
Late winners
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An ability to win games despite not playing well (especially with late goals) is, often, described as the mark of a champion side. Liverpool took that message very seriously over five of the next six games:
Aug. 25: Rio Ngumoha winner vs Newcastle United in the 100th minute.
Aug. 31: Dominik Szoboszlai winner (freekick) vs Arsenal in the 83rd minute.
Sept. 14: Mohamed Salah winner (penalty) vs Burnley in the 95th minute.
Sept.17: Virgil van Dijk winner vs Atletico Madrid in the 92nd minute.
Sept. 23: Hugo Ekitike winner vs Southampton in the 85th minute.
What would have worried Arne Slot is how unconvincing they were during that stretch. They allowed 10-man Newcastle to come from behind to make it 2-2 before teenager Ngumoha stunned St. James Park, while they struggled to create many chances against either Arsenal or Burnley.
Championship side Southampton came to Anfield in the EFL Cup and held their own, so much so that Ekitike celebrated the winner by taking his shirt off and whirling it around (which also saw him get a second booking).
The odd one out (and not mentioned above) was the Merseyside derby on Sept. 20, in which Liverpool held onto a first half lead to scrape home a 2-1 win.
They had won all seven of their first seven games, but deep fault lines were being exposed across the side.
Four straight defeats
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If at first the wheels were shaking, they have finally come off.
It began at Selhurst Park on Sept. 27 when Crystal Palace hit Liverpool with a taste of their own medicine, netting a 97th-minute winner from Eddie Nketiah.
Three days later, they travelled to Istanbul, where Galatasaray sat deep and countered at pace to take a 1-0 win. Faced with a low block again, Liverpool's high-powered attack fizzled out.
On Oct. 4, away at Chelsea -- another side struggling to find consistent form -- they conceded early, battled hard to make it 1-1 in the second half and once again crumbled late on when Estevao scored the winner in the 95th minute. Patterns from the Palace game had re-emerged at Stamford Bridge.
Arne Slot, though, changed little over the international break and paid the price against Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday. Cody Gakpo hit the woodwork three times and missed a sitter (as did Isak and Salah), but for most of the match Liverpool looked disjointed and defensively susceptible.
It leaves Liverpool suffering four straight losses for the first time since November 2014, before the arrival of Jürgen Klopp.
