A meek FA Cup exit. His heaviest defeat as Liverpool manager. A senior player saying there was no “fighting spirit.”
Arne Slot came under renewed pressure Saturday after a 4-0 thrashing by Manchester City featuring a 20-minute collapse that he could barely explain.
“An unbelievable disappointment,” the Dutchman said after Liverpool’s elimination in the FA Cup quarterfinals at Etihad Stadium.
After winning the Premier League last year in his first season in charge and then overseeing a $570 million summer splurge on new players, Slot has seen Liverpool fall away badly and lose 15 matches in all competitions. That’s their most in a single season since 2014-15.
The Reds are fifth in the league — 21 points behind first-place Arsenal — and now have just one shot left at a trophy, in the Champions League. Liverpool plays defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals starting next week.
Slot’s predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, used to describe Liverpool's players as “mentality monsters” but there was a lack of fight in the team, especially in the period from the 39th to the 57th minute when City scored all of its goals.
“The fighting spirit wasn’t there enough, the mentality wasn’t there enough. None of us were there to be honest as much as we could,” Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai said.
Asked why those attributes weren’t there, he added: “That’s a good question. I don’t know. It’s hard to find words, to be honest.”
Szoboszlai’s comments were then put to Slot.
“I should ask him what he means and what period of time,” Slot said. “If he felt it was the whole game, I did not feel this until the moment they scored (to make it) 1-0.
“In that 10, 15 minutes of time (at the start of the second half)," he added, "I missed the fighting spirit ... the willingness to win your duel, to be there first, to make it difficult for either a pass or a cross or a finish. That is something we definitely have to do better on Wednesday (against PSG).”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Woodside Musical Theatre proudly presents Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert — the company’s … Read moreJESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Concert
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
John Baker said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.