Liverpool in Crisis: 9 Losses in Their Last 12 — First Time in 72 Years They Suffer Three Straight Defeats by 3+ Goals

Analysis by Hikaru Sakamoto

Liverpool’s nightmare run continued with yet another heavy defeat.

On Matchday 5 of the Champions League league phase, Liverpool travelled to face PSV. The Reds fell behind just six minutes in when Ivan Perišić converted a penalty after a handball. Dominik Szoboszlai briefly pulled them level in the 16th minute, reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box. But things unraveled after the break: Guus Til restored PSV’s lead on 56 minutes, and Yorbe Vertessen’s replacement, Johan Bakayoko’s fellow winger Druijfisch (Kohei Druijwisch), struck twice in the 73rd and 90+1 minutes to seal a brutal 4–1 defeat.

The loss extends a grim trend. Liverpool had already been beaten 0–3 by Manchester City on the 9th and 0–3 by Nottingham Forest on the 22nd, marking the club’s first back-to-back league defeats by a margin of three goals or more since April 1965 — nearly 60 years ago. With the PSV result added, it is now three straight competitive matches lost by three goals or more.

According to OPTA, this is Liverpool’s first time conceding 3+ goals in three consecutive competitive games since September 1992 (33 years ago). Even more alarming, losing three straight matches by 3+ goals hasn’t happened since December 1953 — a staggering 72-year gap.

Virgil van Dijk, who conceded the decisive handball penalty today, has now given away three penalties in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League player.

Liverpool opened the season with seven straight wins, but have since collapsed, losing nine of their last 12 matches — the joint-worst 12-game stretch in club history, matching the run recorded between November 1953 and January 1954.

As a result, Liverpool have slipped to 12th in the Premier League and 13th in the Champions League standings. Their next chance to halt the slide comes on the 30th, away to West Ham. Whether they can stop the bleeding remains to be seen.

The Bigger Picture

What comes through most clearly from these reactions is not disappointment, but something closer to final judgment. Supporters are no longer talking about bad luck or temporary dips in form. The name they keep coming back to is Arne Slot, and the decisions he has refused to change.

“Three wins, nine losses in twelve games” and “using the same XI every time” are not cited as statistics for shock value. They are used to underline a deeper frustration: nothing is being corrected. The continued reliance on players like Gravenberch and Salah, and the way Wataru Endo is deployed, are all being pinned directly on Slot’s choices.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the defending. When fans describe it as “criminal” or say Liverpool no longer defend with all eleven players, they are not arguing tactics — they are questioning commitment. Under Klopp, everyone tracked back, everyone suffered together. Now, as one comment puts it, the team “defends like it’s doing community service” and “attacks like a drunk pub XI.”

The repeated mention of Chiesa is telling. “Chiesa was the only one actually working” is not an attack on individual teammates so much as an indictment of a side that no longer looks collectively invested. The effort gap is visible, and fans are no longer pretending otherwise.

The 1–4 defeat to PSV, combined with heavy losses to Nottingham Forest and others at Anfield, and three straight defeats by three or more goals, are being treated as evidence of something larger: Liverpool are no longer feared. Slot has been figured out. Once the attack stalls, there is no defensive structure to fall back on.

This is not about waiting for momentum to return. In the eyes of supporters, continuing as things are is the real risk.

Fan Reactions

• Some supporters still insist Slot will turn things around, but at this stage it feels less like belief and more like refusing to give critics the satisfaction of being right.
• Liverpool’s drop-off felt instant — like falling off a cliff.
• The first obvious step should be benching Gravenberch and Salah.
• Football constantly reminds you how massive a manager’s influence is; elite players are everywhere, the coach is the real multiplier.
• Last season’s title run came down to rivals imploding and Salah hitting peak form — nothing more.
• A centre-back signing is non-negotiable at this point.
• Liverpool have never sacked a title-winning manager, which makes some think they’re gambling on January fixes.
• If they don’t act now, it could be years before they win again.
• Getting battered by Forest and PSV at Anfield shows what happens when Klopp’s goodwill finally runs out.
• Chiesa was the only player who looked like he was actually working, which says everything about the rest.
• Opponents have figured Slot out; without a defensive structure, once the attack stalls, it’s game over.
• Teams now treat Liverpool like a solved boss fight.
• A side that once defended together now looks like it’s doing community service, and attacks like a pub team after too many drinks.
• Endless possession and nonstop attacking is fantasy football, not reality.
• Slot’s ideas were figured out by the second half of last season, and performances dipped once the surprise factor vanished.
• Just bring Klopp back.
• Three wins and nine losses in twelve games with the same lineup shows a manager completely out of his depth.
• The defending is borderline criminal.
• Slot isn’t going to suddenly learn how to coach a defense — cutting losses now makes more sense.
• Even Gerrard called the PSV performance unacceptable, with Slot now matching the club’s worst run since the early 1950s.
• Three straight defeats by three or more goals is historic — for all the wrong reasons.
• At this stage, even an interim like Riise feels tempting.
• There’s no damage control happening, and players chasing Champions League football must be furious.
• Losing to PSV is one thing; losing 4–1 is humiliating.
• Slot’s spell is now being compared unfavorably to the Hodgson era — with far more money spent.
• If they can’t defend, they should at least play a system that admits it.
• Slot even pushes Endo forward, and it’s already cost goals.
• Plenty of managers are available, from Gerrard to Xavi, Motta, Tudor, and Southgate.
• Appointing Gerrard, even temporarily, would at least restore belief and acceptance.
• Players look unmotivated, and the “never give up” mentality from the Klopp era is fading fast.
• Nothing improves until Slot is gone; every other Premier League team defends with all eleven players.
• It’s still baffling that no centre-back was signed.
• Without a sacking or a January miracle, this run feels destined to continue.
• Reports of a split dressing room and frozen-out squad players suggest the atmosphere is the worst it’s been in years.

What Remains

After all the reactions are read, what lingers is not hope that things will magically improve, but a clear fear of what continued inaction will cost.

Several comments point to reports of a fractured dressing room — regulars versus bench players, frozen-out squad members, and a rigid hierarchy. The repeated comparison to the Klopp era, where “everyone got chances,” is not nostalgia for its own sake. It reflects a belief that trust inside the squad has already eroded.

There is also a growing concern about ambition. Players who still want Champions League football are described as furious, and fans sense that motivation is draining away alongside results. This is no longer just about losing matches; it is about losing belief and buy-in.

January signings are mentioned, particularly at centre-back, but even those calls come with skepticism. Many supporters are clear: this is not simply a recruitment issue. As long as Slot remains and nothing changes, they expect the same patterns to repeat.

The names being floated — Gerrard, Xavi, Tudor — are not about tactical blueprints. They represent a desire for someone who can take responsibility, reset the atmosphere, and reconnect the team with its identity.

What remains, above all, is not rage but clarity. A sense that without decisive action, this will not be remembered as a short slump, but as the moment Liverpool allowed something foundational to slip away — knowingly, and unnecessarily.

Source:
sky sports
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13474830/liverpool-1-4-psv-eindhoven-shocking-defeat-for-arne-slots-side-as-dutch-side-score-four-in-champions-league-shock?utm_source=chatgpt.com