Liverpool misery deepens in dismal PSV rout

TDT l Liverpool

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Liverpool’s dismal season plunged to new depths as PSV Eindhoven stormed to a 4-1 Champions League win at Anfield on Wednesday, marking the Reds’ ninth defeat in 12 games and their worst run since 1953-54. The pressure on manager Arne Slot intensified as boos rang out at full-time, just days after a 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool fell behind early when Virgil van Dijk handled a corner, allowing Ivan Perisic to score from the spot in the sixth minute. Dominik Szoboszlai equalised after Cody Gakpo’s run forced a save, but the goal failed to lift the struggling side. Van Dijk hit the bar before half-time, yet defensive lapses returned after the break.

Guus Til restored PSV’s lead in the 56th minute after a precise pass from Mauro Junior cut through Liverpool’s defence. The hosts unravelled further when Ibrahima Konate’s miscontrolled pass gifted Ricardo Pepi a chance that rebounded for Couhaib Driouech to score. Driouech added a second in stoppage time, finishing a cross from Sergino Dest as the home crowd thinned out.

Slot admitted the situation was bleak but praised his team’s first-half response after going 1-0 down. “We had enough chances to go 2-1 up. At half-time I don’t think anyone expected us to lose 4-1,” he said. “We just have to face where we are and fight really hard.”

The Premier League champions, beaten in six of their last seven league matches, head to West Ham on Sunday languishing in 12th place — their first bottom-half position in over a decade.

Their Champions League campaign is also in jeopardy after a second loss in five matches, leaving them 13th in the league phase, with only the top eight guaranteed a last-16 spot.

Slot, who admitted feeling “guilty” about the “ridiculous” slump, appears increasingly short of solutions as Liverpool’s season continues to unravel.