Liverpool have been enjoying a rare weekend off as they look ahead to another big few days of fixtures.
Having crashed out of the FA Cup away at Plymouth Argyle in January, the Reds have no game between Wednesday’s win over Newcastle and next week’s clash with PSG.
The Plymouth result was arguably the lowest point of Liverpool’s time under Arne Slot so far.
With the fixture list so hectic in the first month of the year, Slot chose to field a hugely weakened team against bottom-of-the-Championship Argyle.
However, with the senior members of the Liverpool squad failing to turn up, and a few youngsters struggling to get going, the Reds were beaten.
As bad as that result was, though, many Liverpool supporters would still place September’s Premier League loss to Nottingham Forest above it in terms of poor moments. But according to Paul Merson, Slot learned his lesson from the surprise defeat at Anfield.
Arne Slot learns Nottingham Forest lesson
Rewind back to September 14th 2024, and Liverpool were flying high having won three in three to kick off their Premier League campaign.
Manchester United had been swept aside 3-0 at Old Trafford two weeks before and Slot was already looking like a terrific appointment.
Forest had expected to be beaten comfortably at Anfield, but the first international break of the season disrupted Liverpool’s rhythm and they lost 1-0. Looking back on that game for Sky Sports, Merson says he ‘wasn’t impressed at all’ by Slot’s team.
“I did the game against Nottingham Forest when they lost, I wasn’t impressed at all,” says the pundit. “I thought they could struggle here a bit.”
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“But it was straight after international break, I think with Slot being in Holland I don’t think it’s the same as in the Premier League, there’s a massive gulf.”
“When you come back the lesser teams have got a good chance of beating you, it’s a real leveller and I think that taught him a lesson.
“I think he learnt there that sometimes when it isn’t going great, just be patient and just take a draw here and there. But I think they’ve been absolutely outstanding.”
Merson claims the title race is finished
Merson won two First Division titles during his time with Arsenal during the 1980’s and 1990’s.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 28 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 66 | 26 | 40 | 67 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 28 | 54 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 33 | 11 | 48 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 27 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 53 | 37 | 16 | 47 |
But despite his allegiance to the Gunners, the former England midfielder has admitted that this year’s race is done. According to Merson, it’s just a matter of by how many points Liverpool win it by.
“It’s just a matter of how many points from now on,” he says.
“They’ve just got to stay concentrated, they’ve been absolutely outstanding. I can’t talk highly enough of them.”
Liverpool’s loss against Forest felt like a make-or-break moment at the time. Thankfully, Slot learned what he needed to from it and catapulted the Reds towards a sensational campaign.
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