Slot risks Liverpool sack after act of betrayal against PSG

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 9 Apr 2026 03:18 CDT
• 5 min read

Analysis

Liverpool’s nightmare season continued with a 2-0 loss against PSG in the Champions League in Paris, with Arne Slot putting his future ever more in danger with a tactical performance that betrayed the tradition of the Anfield side.

The Dutchman also outed himself as a hypocrite as his team practised the type of football that he has often been so vocally critical of the Reds’ opponents producing.

Goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia condemned Liverpool to defeat, but in truth it could have been a good deal worse on what was another bruising night to Slot’s reputation.

Indeed, the one positive that could be drawn from the display is that they are still in the tie, and for that they have a combination of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and referee Jose Maria Sanchez to thank as the former stopped everything he could reasonably get his gloves on and the latter chose to overlook a clear Ibrahima Konate push in the box with time ticking down.

With Liverpool struggling to qualify for the Champions League next season via their league position, Slot’s future has been a source of persistent speculation. Fuel has only been poured onto the fire with the loss in Paris.

No ambition, no dynamism, no excitement: This is Slotball

Liverpool’s performance was not worthy of Premier League champions, not just in terms of end product, but also in style.

The Reds failed to manage a shot on target over the course of the match and had just three efforts of any sort. What was truly startling, though, was the lack of will to impose themselves on the game. It was damage limitation from the outset as Slot arranged his side in a 5-4-1 formation, with Mohamed Salah notably a spectator from the bench.

“Soon as they played a back five, it sends out the wrong signals for me,” former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It is not playing to Liverpool's strengths and it is defending their weaknesses.”

PSG, for their part, produced a performance of a technical level Liverpool will rarely face. The home side failed to complete only 61 of their 744 attempted passes; by contrast, the Reds missed 64 from just 253.

This was not Liverpool as we know it; there was no ambition, no dynamism, no excitement. This was cowardly. This was Slotball.

Slot’s hypocrisy

It was a matter of weeks ago that Slot grumbled that the Premier League was no longer a joy due to its reliance on set pieces.

On 2 March, he complained: “If I watch other leagues I don't think there's so much emphasis on set-pieces.

“My football heart doesn't like it. If you ask me about football, I think about the Barcelona team from 10, 15 years ago. Every Sunday evening you were hoping they would play.”

Slot went on to lament: “I just wouldn't be surprised if you went to watch a Sunday League match now and the 16-year-olds were completely focused on set-pieces.”

Just 37 days later, he had turned into the very thing he railed against.

There were only six minutes on the clock at Parc des Princes when Liverpool won a throw midway inside the PSG half. The Reds’ reaction was to hand the ball to Joe Gomez and ask him to launch it into the home box. The pattern was set for the evening as the hosts rebuffed the attack.

Slot set for the sack as Liverpool’s tradition cast aside

Liverpool fans are connoisseurs of attractive football, with the club having produced the most exciting teams in the Premier League for close to a decade under Jurgen Klopp.

This is a club with the tradition of seeking to attack at pace with the ball and swarm opponents relentlessly to win possession back without it. There was little of that attitude on display in the French capital.

Slot was dragged down to the level of the Premier League this season in Paris, practising a style of football that just a matter of weeks ago he was lamenting.

He is a manager who has lost faith in his principles and the traditions of his club. It’s a matter of time before he loses his job.

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