Liverpool have had a rough time of it over the last couple of weeks.
The 2025-26 season started perfectly for Arne Slot and his men, but now, it feels like things have taken a turn for the worse.
They managed to lose their five-game winning streak in the Premier League and were even beaten by Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Many expected Liverpool to only be fazed by teams such as Arsenal, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, but in reality, it feels like Crystal Palace are their bogey team.
That is, especially since they’ve already lost to the Eagles twice this season.
There are several reasons behind Liverpool’s recent run of poor form, but now that the international break is upon us, it’ll give Slot and his team some time to study how to improve things upon the return of his first-team squad.
Despite Slot winning the Premier League with Liverpool last term, questions are already being asked about the Dutchman’s future.
Ryan Babel has been left baffled by calls from Liverpool fans to get Arne Slot sacked
Although there aren’t a massive number of fans calling for Slot’s head, on social media over the last few days, there have been some calls for Liverpool to sack the Dutchman.
This would be a really reactionary call from the Anfield outfit, with the club likely just going through a rough patch.
Fans have also got to take into account the number of changes that have occurred in such a short space of time, which has meant that all of Liverpool’s players haven’t had time to fully gel just yet.
And, taking to his personal X account, former Liverpool player Ryan Babel shared his thoughts on fans already calling for the head of Slot.
“Lately I see fans talking about Arne Slott like he has to go,” he wrote.
“Sometimes I don’t get it. Football is a beautiful game, and winning or losing is part of it.
“Just some words of encouragement and respect to Arne…. at Liverpool, we never walk alone.
“Mind you, this was just a few months ago.”
Arne Slot needs to figure out his strongest Liverpool XI upon their return from the international break
One thing that Slot has done well this season is that he’s given players plenty of rest.
However, with this seemingly being the new normal at Anfield, it means that there isn’t likely to be a regular starting XI for him to choose from.
Last term, he had a favoured starting XI, which means that they could all easily develop relationships and know exactly where one another was on the pitch.
However, this season, things are slightly different due to the amount of money that Liverpool have spent on new players.
They now have almost two world-class players per position, and while this is good for things such as injuries, it means that it’ll take a lot longer for players to gel.
This is likely one of the main reasons why the Reds haven’t started playing to the best of their ability just yet, and it also outlines why things haven’t gone to plan in their last three games.
So, if Slot doesn’t figure out his best starting XI soon, things could go from bad to worse in double quick time.
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