The Athletic
There was no hiding place for Arne Slot as boos echoed around Anfield at the final whistle
Analysis
By James Pearce
Jan. 17, 2026
“I have the same and the players definitely have the same frustration as the fans have. If we are not disappointed anymore by having a draw at home against Burnley then something is completely wrong.”
Never has a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions (six wins, six draws) generated such negativity. Rather than revive Slot’s reign, it has only served to intensify the scrutiny over where they are heading with the Dutchman.
Liverpool have drawn four successive league matches for the first time since 2008 and only the stalemate at leaders Arsenal did not feel like a defeat.
With Burnley following in the footsteps of Sunderland and Leeds United by earning a point at Anfield, Liverpool have failed to win at home against any of the newly promoted sides for the first time since 1980-81.
That represents a spectacular fall considering the heights Slot’s side consistently reached in blowing away their rivals en route to the Premier League crown last season.
Liverpool have won five of their last 17 league matches, collecting 21 points out of a possible 51 (1.24 per game). When Roy Hodgson was sacked as manager in January 2011, he had 25 points from 20 games (1.25 per game).
Context is important. Hodgson had no credit in the bank. Most fans never wanted him to replace Rafa Benitez and what little support he did have ebbed away inside six months due to the dour brand of football as much as the results. Liverpool were 12th in the table when owner Fenway Sports Group relieved him of his duties.
This situation is different. Slot is a title-winning manager, who had to deal with tragedy and major changes to the playing squad last summer. As head coach he doesn’t carry the can for recruitment decisions and a number of injury setbacks have been beyond his control.
With Liverpool fourth in the Premier League, well placed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League and still in the FA Cup, something significant can still be secured from this season.
Slot retains the backing of FSG, who have no plans to follow the lead of rivals Manchester United and Chelsea by making a managerial change mid-campaign.
However, if he’s going to stop haemorrhaging support among the fanbase he needs to find momentum, and fast. There appeared to be no obvious replacement for those demanding change. That’s no longer the case following Xabi Alonso’s exit from Real Madrid.
Alonso, who has a close bond with Liverpool dating back to his playing days on Merseyside between 2004 and 2009, would have been a strong candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp in 2024 if he hadn’t vowed to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for another year. Slot then emerged as an emphatic first choice for FSG CEO of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes in their data-led search.
It’s unclear when or where Alonso will look to embark on a new challenge but with every setback Liverpool endure, the noise will crank up. Slot can only silence it by finding solutions to the problems facing him.
Champions League qualification is the minimum requirement, and that’s far from certain with United one point behind and Chelsea two points adrift.
It would be unfair to brand Saturday’s 1-1 draw as the ‘same old story’. This wasn’t Liverpool struggling to create chances because their approach play was uninspiring.
They turned 73 per cent possession into 32 shots of which 11 were on target — their highest number in a league game for 13 months. They created 2.96xG (expected goals) against Burnley’s 0.4. In the first half, there was an attacking fluency and energy to Slot’s side which hasn’t been seen enough.
Liverpool should have been out of sight. Why didn’t Milos Kerkez shoot when bearing down on goal early on? Why did Dominik Szoboszlai go for power and smash a penalty against the bar? Other gilt-edged opportunities were spurned and Martin Dubravka pulled off fine saves.
The opening goal was a beauty, with Hugo Ekitike and Curtis Jones heavily involved before Florian Wirtz hammered home. In the second half, Cody Gakpo simply had to score, but his scuffed effort was cleared off the line.
Predictably, Liverpool’s penchant for conceding soft goals reared its head again. You could sense the anxiety levels rising as the hosts got sloppy in the moments that preceded the equaliser. Florentino Luis had too much time and space to deliver a pass and Marcus Edwards’ run wasn’t tracked as he fired beyond Alisson. It was Burnley’s only attempt on target.
“There was one big warning sign just before that when we almost scored an own goal,” Slot said. “That chance and the goal we conceded came from similar situations where we wanted to try to bring the ball out from the back and were caught in possession.”
Substitute Alexis Mac Allister, who hasn’t scored a league goal since April, skied Liverpool’s best chance of a winner. Slot was let down by wild finishing, but he’s responsible for how they lost their way in the second half and how brittle they remain.
Even at 1-0 up, there was audible irritation among the fans at how slowly Liverpool were moving the ball rather than going for the jugular. This week’s return of Mohamed Salah from Africa Cup of Nations can’t come soon enough.
There have been positives to take lately, with Wirtz flourishing. Six of his nine goal involvements for Liverpool have come since December 20 — no Premier League player has more in all competitions in that time. Jeremie Frimpong and Kerkez have kicked on, but on days like this their efforts are overshadowed.
“All the development some players are going through is not being seen because the results don’t reflect it,” Slot sais. “It’s hard for the players to feel that they are improving if results are not as we want them to be.”
The clock is ticking. Slot stopped the rot before Christmas, but this remains the most unconvincing of resurgences.
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