Arne Slot has been under pressure this season. Now his Liverpool future just suffered a massive blow that he must battle against.
Arne Slot delivered the Premier League title in his first season as Liverpool boss. Few, then, could have imagined that he'd be facing the sack in his second.
But that's been the reality. We don't believe he's been on the brink of losing his job, admittedly, but the pressure has skyrocketed after Liverpool's worst run of form for 70 years.
We've seen some of the absolute worst results of any modern Liverpool team, including a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest followed by a 4-1 home defeat against PSV Eindhoven.
It's been awful at times. And the reality is that Liverpool haven't had consistently good form since the start of 2025. While a lot of last season's struggles were ignored because of the title procession, they've been impossible to ignore this season.
There's always been one obvious reason why Liverpool wouldn't sack Slot, though. However, that reason has now disappeared.
Xabi Alonso is available
If Liverpool sacked Slot, who would come in? That's the question that always made moving on from the Dutchman improbable.
After all, Slot was Liverpool's pick back in early 2024 and the group of available coaches hasn't exactly moved on dramatically. There haven't been any obvious hires.
Contrast that to when Brendan Rodgers was let go in 2015 – both Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti were available and willing to talk.
But things changed on Monday. Real Madrid have sacked Xabi Alonso – even if they're calling it 'mutual termination' – and the former Liverpool midfielder is free to join a new club.
