Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted that the 2025/26 season is the toughest of his managerial career, lamenting his side’s poor run of form and conceding that the Reds are failing to meet the club’s historic standards.
Defeat to Manchester City on Sunday left the reigning Premier League champions sixth in the table, four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea.
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Liverpool are level on points with seventh-placed Brentford and would have slipped below the Bees on goal difference had Rayan Cherki’s late third goal for City not been disallowed.
Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp in June 2024 and enjoyed a dream debut campaign, guiding Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th top-flight title in his first season in charge.
However, the Reds have struggled for consistency this term despite spending almost £450 million on new signings last summer, including a British-record £125m deal for Alexander Isak.
Liverpool have so far won 11, drawn six and lost eight of their Premier League matches in the 2025/26 season.
Asked by BBC Sport whether this was the toughest campaign of his career, Slot was candid.
“By a mile. All the other seasons I have managed, there were only positives,” Slot said.
“I don’t think I have ever lost two games in a row until now. It’s an exception for me; I’m not used to it.
“We don’t feel like we’ve only lost two of our last 17 games. A draw feels like a loss.
“The players know what the standards of Liverpool mean, and we are not performing to those standards. They feel that disappointment.”
