Gary Neville warned that the speed and scale of Liverpool’s recent collapse is “unacceptable” and a major problem for head coach Arne Slot after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield. The loss — Liverpool’s sixth in seven Premier League matches — leaves them with their worst start to a campaign since 2014 and sitting 13 points worse off than at the same stage last season.
Captain Virgil van Dijk urged team-mates to “look in the mirror,” while Slot admitted he must “look at myself” after his side surrendered half of their league fixtures so far. On his podcast Neville said the situation goes beyond a simple blip: “A blip is losing one or two games; when you start losing three and four you have to do something. You can’t lose six games in seven if you are Liverpool Football Club. It’s unacceptable.”
Neville criticised both the tactical approach and certain personnel, calling for changes to restore solidity. He suggested Slot may need to alter the system or style, make personnel switches and be more pragmatic — for example considering Joe Gomez at right-back with Andy Robertson at left in a narrower back four. He singled out Milos Kerkez and Ibrahima Konate as players currently struggling and urged a return to basics for everyone: sleep, recovery, diet and attention to small details.
At the same time, Neville acknowledged Slot’s achievements — notably an impressive title-winning first season after succeeding Jurgen Klopp — and said the manager still has “credit in the bank.” But he warned that difficult decisions will be necessary to halt the slide: “Slot is a brilliant manager with real class, but he’s got to reverse and do something different — maybe make some difficult decisions. The players have to step up, or it will become a problem.”
Match analysis from Laura Hunter at Anfield highlighted two big issues: the absence of Liverpool’s usual match-winners and blunt finishing. Nottingham Forest’s Murillo was outstanding at both ends, while Liverpool’s attacking threats underperformed. Mohamed Salah started but faded, and Alexander Isak was largely anonymous — losing all seven duels he contested and becoming the only Liverpool player in the Premier League era to lose each of his first four starts. Federico Chiesa, brought on later, registered more expected-goal value despite far fewer minutes. Alexis Mac Allister also missed Liverpool’s clearest chance before Forest’s opener — a miss that might have altered the game.
The crowd at Anfield tolerated the early stages but expressed audible frustration at full-time. Liverpool dominated possession (74%) yet still conceded three goals, a performance partly blamed on midfielders being deployed across the defensive line and on a growing lack of cohesion. What might once have been described as a temporary downturn now looks like a deeper crisis that could derail their title defence unless Slot conducts a thorough review and implements fixes quickly.
Upcoming fixtures:
Nov 26: PSV Eindhoven (H), Champions League
Nov 30: West Ham (A), Premier League
Dec 3: Sunderland (H), Premier League
Dec 6: Leeds (A), Premier League
Dec 9: Inter Milan (A), Champions League