Gary Neville says the “severity and immediacy” of Liverpool’s recent downturn is a major concern for head coach Arne Slot, calling it “unacceptable”.
Liverpool suffered a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games, losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday — their worst start to a campaign since 2014. Captain Virgil van Dijk urged team-mates to “look in the mirror”, while Slot said he must “look at myself” after his side lost half of their league matches so far and sit 13 points worse off than at the same stage last season.
“What is unusual is the severity and immediacy of the drop, and the worrying signs that are appearing,” Neville said on his podcast. “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. The manager has to change the style or the system and help them. It means being more solid, personnel changes. [Milos] Kerkez is struggling, [Ibrahima] Konate is struggling.
“I called on it a few weeks ago, I said maybe Joe Gomez should play right-back, Andy Robertson at left-back and play as a narrow back four. Be a bit more pragmatic. Something has to change in the collective.
“From an individual perspective you have to strip it right back to the foundations, whether that’s sleep, stretching, eating, the tiny details. Do everything better.”
Neville acknowledged Slot’s achievements — notably his impressive title-winning first season after succeeding Jurgen Klopp — saying the manager has “credit in the bank”. But he warned Slot must make “difficult decisions” to reverse the decline. “I thought Liverpool would experience what they are experiencing this season last year, after Klopp left. What Slot did was out of the ordinary. Liverpool expect to win titles, they don’t expect to lose six of seven in any season. He’s causing himself a problem. Slot is a brilliant manager with real class, but he’s got to reverse and do something different – maybe make some difficult decisions. He’s going to come under pressure, let’s not get too carried away with that. The players have to step up, or it will become a problem.”
Analysis by Laura Hunter at Anfield: While Murillo was outstanding at both ends as Forest won, the bigger worry for Slot is the absence of Liverpool’s usual match-winners. Mohamed Salah started but faded; Federico Chiesa produced more expected-goal value despite playing far fewer minutes. Alexander Isak was virtually non-existent and, by the time he was substituted for Chiesa, had lost all seven duels he contested — making him the only Liverpool player in the Premier League era to lose each of his first four starts. Alexis Mac Allister squandered the one clear chance Liverpool carved out before Forest’s opener, a miss that might have changed the game.
The crowd at Anfield showed tolerance early on but were audibly frustrated by the final whistle. Liverpool managed 74% possession yet still conceded enough to lose 3-0 — a performance partly explained by having midfielders playing across the defensive line. What began as a blip now looks like a wider crisis that risks becoming a calamitous 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