Liverpool suffered a 12th Premier League loss as Aston Villa beat the Reds to clinch the fourth Champions League spot with one game to play and one last slot up for grabs.
This abysmal Premier League title defence continued with Liverpool shipping four goals.
They have now conceded 52 goals this term, the most they have recorded in a 38-game Premier League campaign.
Liverpool fans are clearly fed up with the team, and most especially manager Arne Slot, who has failed to arrest the slide, walking out on the Dutchman as Villa fans chanted ‘sacked in the morning.’
Still, the briefings from Liverpool continue to signal trust in Slot and willingness to support him into next season.
Banking on this team bouncing back under the former Feyenoord boss is a massive gamble, but he has earned it.
The circumstances at the beginning of the season, poor acclimatisation of new signings, major injuries, and failure to bring in certain profiles all contributed to disrupting the campaign.
Slot has urged that they know what needs improvement and that fans underestimate what a transfer window and reset can do. He is absolutely right.
The task looks massive, but with four key additions and last summer’s signings better used to their new environments, Liverpool can challenge for top honours again.
Regarding Slot, the tactician who guided the Merseyside outfit to an unprecedented league title last season is still there.
He only needs the right additions and a pre-season to reinvent his ideas.
Liverpool fans are especially furious as it seems former midfielder, fan favourite and promising manager Xabi Alonso is heading to Chelsea.
They feel they are missing out on a potentially world-class manager who can get the best out of players like Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
It is difficult, but the Reds aren’t known for turning their back on managers when results don’t go their way, and they will fight to bounce back.
The Reds are still on track to secure Champions League football and can build from there.
The structure now in place must quickly translate into cohesion, clarity, and results, otherwise the conversation will shift from patience to pressure far sooner than anyone at the club would like.
Anfield has seen enough false dawns to know that optimism without immediate evidence carries little weight.
The response on and off the pitch in the first few games next season will be particularly important.