Arne Slot’s woes deepen as woeful Liverpool are thrashed by PSV at Anfield

Nine defeats in 12 games. A 75% loss rate since Eddie Nketiah scored a stoppage-time winner for Crystal Palace on 27 September and instigated a collapse that no one at Liverpool, no one in football in fact, could have seen coming. Unbelievable indeed. Arne Slot’s team are stuck in reverse.

PSV Eindhoven became the latest grateful recipients of woeful Liverpool defending and aimless attacking play to inflict a comprehensive and damaging Champions League defeat on the Anfield side. Liverpool have suffered three successive defeats by a three-goal margin and show no signs of conjuring the recovery that Slot desperately needs to prevent a crisis undermining his hold on the job. There were boos around Anfield as the final whistle sounded on another terrible defeat for the Premier League champions.

Not conceding first must have been on Slot’s list of corrections for Liverpool’s sorry run of results but that is precisely what happened as Virgil van Dijk gifted PSV an early breakthrough. The Eredivisie leaders and champions made a confident start. From their second corner in quick succession, delivered by Joey Veerman, the Liverpool captain handled high above his head at the near post to concede a clear penalty. The Spanish referee, Alejandro Hernández, was unmoved by Van Dijk’s claims that he had been pushed in the back by his Netherlands’ defensive colleague Jerdy Schouten. So too was the video assistant referee. Veteran Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic sent a confident penalty the opposite way to Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was deputising for the ill Alisson.

It was the worst possible start for a Liverpool team under pressure and requiring a reaction to Saturday’s unravelling at home to Nottingham Forest. And it meant Slot’s side had conceded first in 10 of their last 12 outings. Ridiculous, as the Liverpool head coach might say.

Unlike Forest, however, when Van Dijk admitted panic kicked in, Liverpool responded positively to falling behind. As they should; there were only six minutes on the clock after all. Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo brought the aggression and purpose that had been lacking on Saturday and combined to create an equaliser ten minutes later. Cody Gakpo, receiving the midfielder’s pass on the left, cut across Sergino Dest and forced Matej Kovar into a low save. The PSV keeper could only push the ball back into the danger zone where Dominik Szoboszlai was perfectly placed to slot into an unguarded net.

The relief around Anfield was palpable and almost punctured immediately when PSV defender Yarek Gasiorowski converted from a free-kick. Van Dijk, possibly still fuming over the penalty decision, picked up a booking for a needless foul on Ismael Saibari. Saibari connected with the subsequent set piece but was foiled at point-blank range by Mamardashvili. Gasiorowski tapped home the rebound but the effort was disallowed for offside against Saibari.

Liverpool improved significantly thereafter. Hugo Ekitiké, preferred to £125m Alexander Isak up front, had a penalty claim against Anass Salah-Eddine dismissed and also draw a fine save from Kovar. Van Dijk met a Mohamed Salah corner with a header that looped over the visiting keeper only to kiss the face of the crossbar.

Arne Slot has seen his side lose their last three matches by three-goal margins. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

PSV rediscovered their composure on the ball after the restart, much to the annoyance of the home crowd who saw their team outplayed by the visitors for long periods. Liverpool’s defending also added to Anfield’s sense of unease. Curtis Jones, deployed at right-back in the absence of Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, and with Joe Gomez only fit enough to start on the bench, presented Saibari with a glorious chance when playing a risky chip across his own area. He found the PSV striker instead, who should have left the ball for the in-coming Perisic to convert but tried in vain to lob Mamardashvili at close range.

But the visitors’ polished start to the second half would be rewarded. Mauro Júnior, PSV’s defensive midfielder, glided easily away from Salah deep inside the Liverpool half before threading a glorious pass between Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté. Guus Til read the delivery perfectly and, arriving ahead of Milos Kerkez, beat the Liverpool keeper with a first time shot from close range.

Slot’s woes deepened when Ekitiké hobbled off injured and was replaced by Isak. Szoboszlai went close to levelling for a second time with a 20-yard drive that Kovar pushed clear. The Liverpool midfielder kept the pressure on with an inviting cross to the back post only for the unmarked Gakpo to head wastefully over.

It proved a costly miss in terms of the momentum of the game as Liverpool’s soft underbelly was again exposed shortly afterwards.

Konaté’s performance had been an improvement on Saturday’s low-bar but a dreadful error from the Liverpool centre-half invited PSV to extend their advantage. The France international completely missed what should have been a routine clearance to allow substitute Ricardo Pepi to advance through on goal. Pepi cut inside Van Dijk and squeezed a low shot against the base of a post. Fellow substitute Couhaib Driouech followed in to beat Mamardashvili from the rebound.

Konaté was soon replaced for a striker, as he was against Forest, with Slot having to take more risks. The end result was the same with Liverpool exposed and Driouech finding the bottom corner following an incisive PSV counterattack in stoppage time.