Liverpool sacks Slot after title win, citing need for change in style

Liverpool has sacked manager Arne Slot, ending his tenure just over a year after he led the club to the league title. The decision marks an unusual moment in the club's history: Liverpool has never before dismissed a title-winning manager during their title-winning spell. The only comparable moment came when Sir Kenny Dalglish was removed during his second spell, which had brought a League Cup rather than a league title.

Mohamed Salah's exit from the club highlighted the shift in mood. The star player demanded a return to what he called "heavy-metal football" at Liverpool, and the club's leadership agreed with his assessment. The hierarchy concluded that the team's style of play had become ineffective and dull, a sharp departure from what fans expected at Anfield.

The decision to remove Slot came after a difficult review of the season. Liverpool suffered 20 defeats across all competitions, including the Community Shield. The club also recorded its lowest points tally in a decade. Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owner, recognised a situation similar to 2015, when Brendan Rodgers faced fan unrest before being sacked in October that year.

Slot had struggled throughout the campaign to address the team's weaknesses. Liverpool repeatedly conceded late goals and suffered in-game collapses, inviting criticism over fitness levels. The team also showed problems defending set pieces, an increasingly important aspect of Premier League football that conflicted with Slot's approach. Opponents regularly broke down Liverpool's defences in open play.

The squad itself lacked leadership and character during the season. Virgil van Dijk's frank admission that Liverpool "gave up" during their FA Cup quarter-final loss to Manchester City exposed a wider problem within the team. The style of football was not only ineffective but also, from the supporters' perspective, boring—a description that stung Slot, though he could not find a way past it in his second campaign.

Mitigating factors existed for Liverpool's decline. Diogo Jota's death cast a shadow over the season and the squad. A serious injury list stretched resources in both defence and attack. Salah, who had driven Liverpool to the 2024-25 title, suffered an unexpected loss of form that disrupted the entire team's performance.

However, significant responsibility for the squad's problems lay elsewhere. In the summer before this disastrous season, Liverpool spent almost £450m on new signings that weakened rather than strengthened the reigning champions. Chief executive Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes led this recruitment drive, making decisions that Slot had input on but did not control to the extent that previous manager Jürgen Klopp had.

The transfers highlighted poor planning. Liverpool purchased Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m as a wingback for a team that does not use wingbacks. The club spent the summer pursuing Alexander Isak, eventually paying £125m for a striker who missed pre-season and took months to reach match fitness. Liverpool had already signed Hugo Ekitiké and spent £116m on Florian Wirtz, £40m on Milos Kerkez, and £29m on Giorgi Mamardashvili. Luis Díaz, a key player, went unreplaced, and an attempt to negotiate a low price with Crystal Palace for Marc Guéhi backfired.

Slot inherited an imbalanced and inadequate squad as a result of these decisions made above his level. Some encouraging performances came in the Champions League, though a second successive draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout stages proved unfortunate. These bright moments remained rare and fleeting throughout the campaign.

Salah was not alone in struggling. Other established players also suffered downturns in form and voiced complaints. After PSV Eindhoven inflicted a ninth defeat in 12 matches—Liverpool's worst run in 71 years—the club maintained publicly that they supported their manager. That backing lasted for roughly six months, even as problems persisted.

Ultimately, Edwards, Hughes, and FSG concluded they needed to restore faith at Anfield. The distance between Slot and the crowd had grown too wide to bridge with promises of new signings. Slot deserved better treatment than the personal abuse he received on social media and better than feeling excluded from the team's traditional lap of honour after his final game. Yet the mathematics of the situation left the club no choice: winning back the supporters required a change in direction, and Slot had to depart.