Arne Slot Faces Liverpool Pressure as Honeymoon Period Ends

Arne Slot had initially shown promise in his new role as Jurgen Klopp's successor at Liverpool, but a disappointing 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest has quickly derailed his early success and revealed weaknesses in the team's performance. The defeat has cut short Slot's honeymoon period and highlighted areas where the Reds need to improve. With a daunting trip to AC Milan looming on Tuesday, Liverpool must quickly regroup and refocus as they prepare to make their return to the Champions League after a year-long absence. Under Klopp's guidance, Liverpool had regained their status as a top team in European football, and now Slot faces the challenge of maintaining that prestige and leading the team to success in the prestigious competition.

The English giants reached three Champions League finals in five seasons between 2018 and 2022 and won the European Cup for the sixth time in the club's history.

That is the legacy Slot inherits and the former Feyenoord boss has not been handed a kind draw by the new Champions League format.

Liverpool will face the two most succesful sides in the competition's history in Milan and Real Madrid.

Xabi Alonso, who had been the favourite to replace Klopp, will return to Anfield with German champions Bayer Leverkusen in November, while Slot goes back to the Netherlands to face Dutch title holders PSV Eindhoven.

They also face more Italian, Spanish, German and French opposition in Bologna, Girona, Leipzig and Lille.

Yet Liverpool may relish that challenge after struggling when Forest put 11 men behind the ball on Saturday and held out for their first win at Anfield in 55 years.

Advertisement

The home side enjoyed nearly 70 percent possession but lacked the necessary spark to make it count.

"We lost the ball so many times in simple situations," said a frustrated Slot. "We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three or four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough."

The feeling of deflation for the Anfield faithful contrasted sharply with the elation that greeted a 3-0 win at Manchester United before the international break.

Even Klopp had struggled to master Old Trafford during his nearly nine years in charge and the early signs of Slot's reign were positive.

Advertisement

Over-reliance on Salah?

Liverpool won their opening three Premier League games without conceding as the Dutch coach imposed more control and a bit more caution to the free-flowing brand of heavy metal football that quickly won fans over under Klopp.

Slot now has to strike the balance of imposing his own style while keeping both the players and supporters onside during a transition period.

"If I would change my way of preparation after a loss, that means I only do the best work I can after we lose," added Slot on how he will change things up for the trip to Milan.

"I want to see the same attitude every single day: after a big win, after a small win, after a draw, after a loss."

The international break acts as a mitigating factor for Liverpool's off day. Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister were replaced with the score still at 0-0 against Forest after their transatlantic duties in South American World Cup qualifying.

But their failure to fire on an off day for Mohamed Salah exposed a reliance on the 32-year-old to still carry the goal-scoring burden that Slot has to find a solution for, especially with the Egyptian into the final year of his contract.

"Everyone is coming back from different places and playing a different way but still I think even today when we were not at our best we created chances and it should have gone better," said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

"We have to turn this around and make this a sort of reality check to be better for the rest of the season because if you want to achieve things this season the contrast between the games we played is too big."

(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)