Before Sunday, Liverpool supporters had not seen their team lose four consecutive matches since the days of Brendan Rodgers.
It was November 2014 when the Reds last went on a run as appalling as their current demise.
Rodgers was only six months removed from the end of an almost glorious season in which Luis Suarez did his utmost to win the Premier League for Liverpool.
Having sold Suarez to Barcelona, the Reds began the season terribly. Rodgers arguably never recovered from the successive defeats to Newcastle, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, but lasted 11 more months before being relieved of his duties.
After Liverpool slumped to defeat against Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, some supporters were perhaps worried that history could be repeating itself.
Having won the Premier League at his first attempt, Arne Slot is no Brendan Rodgers. However, with the performances just as bleak as the results, some fans are beginning to question whether the Dutchman is out of his depth. The real question is, could Liverpool really sack Slot?
Liverpool surely will not sack Arne Slot
The big concern for Liverpool supporters during this terrible run of form is not necessarily the fact that they have lost four games in a row.
Each of those matches has slipped away in similar circumstances, with the three Premier League games all following exactly the same pattern.
Liverpool have fallen behind before rallying in the second-half. In all three, they have then gone on to concede a late winner. Even in the Champions League against Galatasaray, the margin of defeat has been only one goal. They have never been hugely outplayed and have been in every game they’ve lost.
What is more worrying is that even in the matches Liverpool have won this season, there has been a lack of a clear plan. No win has been comfortable and the Reds genuinely look like they have no idea what system they are supposed to be playing. That is on Slot.
Should things continue into a fifth, sixth or seventh defeat in a row then serious questions will start to be asked of the Liverpool head coach. If performances improve but results do not, that will at least be a start.
Liverpool have generally been a club who have given their managers time. It is a source of pride for supporters that they stick by those leading the team and only look to change things in extreme circumstances.
But having spent such huge money in the summer, and given their status as champions, the goalposts have shifted at Anfield. Slot could potentially become a victim of his own success.
Having said that, no one at Liverpool will be panicking just yet. Slot will be given plenty of time to turn things around. If things continue beyond Christmas, then you never really know, but if this mini-crisis does not have any real legs, then it is hard to see Liverpool sacking their head coach.
Andoni Iraola would be the chosen one
Liverpool would not have been expecting to formulate a back-up plan in case they need to relieve Slot of his duties this season.
But while that should remain an unlikely scenario, the Liverpool owners will have to be ready just in case.
In the event that results and performances do not improve and there is no option but to sack Slot, it feels likely that Andoni Iraola would be the man Liverpool turn to.
Sporting director Richard Hughes hired Iraola at Bournemouth in 2023, and the Basque has since proven himself to be one of the most astute managers in Europe.
Iraola has a clear idea of how he wants his team to play – one that would easily translate to the current Liverpool squad – and is appealing after watching the shapeless football Slot is asking of his team right now.
Supporters should not expect that this will happen, but if the Liverpool head coach fails to halt the slide in Frankfurt on Wednesday, calls for his head on social media will continue to grow and grow. It’s over to you, Arne.
Slot is certainly under a fair bit of pressure and needs to make some changes to keep Liverpool’s title defence alive, although he will have to upset a few stars.
The Reds have so many options that he is bound to leave at least a few players annoyed with his decisions, although he proved that he is not afraid of this towards the end of their game on Sunday.
Gary Lineker believes that one decision in particular was a real ‘statement’, although it will have left one star fuming.
Arne Slot was brave to take off Mohamed Salah
As seen over the years, when Liverpool desperately need a goal, so often it is Mohamed Salah who provides just that, with the Egyptian saving the day on too many occasions to count.
So, when 2-1 down against Man United with only four minutes plus added time to play, the decision to take Salah off would have come as a huge surprise.
This is not because Liverpool fans disagree, as many would have probably said he should have come off earlier, but because not many managers would have been brave enough to do it.
Lineker also believes that this was a bold choice, although he says that Salah will not be happy with it one bit.
“It was interesting, almost a statement from Arne Slot, that he brought Mo Salah off,” he said on The Rest is Football Podcast.
“Trailing 2-1 when you need a goal. We know what Mo’s like, he can pop up. I know he missed a chance and he was very quiet in the game, but it was an interesting decision.
“It nearly paid off immediately because Frimpong went down, crossed the ball and Gakpo should have scored. But I just thought, ‘Hmm… Mo won’t like that’, you know Mo.”
Do Liverpool need to bench Mohamed Salah?
The Egyptian certainly has not been himself so far this season and has really looked off the pace, with this a key reason why the team as a whole have struggled.
Where that is down to change or his age is not fully known, although what is, is that he is no longer untouchable.
Slot has already benched him during the Champions League, so there is no reason to suggest he will not do it again if things do not improve.
The reputation he has earned himself has probably given him enough in the bank to prove why he should still be starting, but that will not last forever unless he finds his shooting boots again.
However, Slot will be under immense criticism for how he set his side up to play against Ruben Amorim’s side, given that many of the tactics highlighted in the build-up by pundits were used by United to defeat Liverpool.
Simply, the Dutchman in this game did not change anything from his team’s previous defeats, and all of the same problems arose, with the defensive issues being a key problem.
Steve Nicol says Arne Slot is to blame for Manchester United winning the second ball
What Amorim’s team did very well was launch out from defence with a long ball and win the second ball consistently to then create a chance against the home side, which was most evident in Bryan Mbeumo’s goal.
Steve Nicol picked up on this and believed that it was down to Slot’s management for it becoming a problem for the Reds.
During the ESPN broadcast, the Scotsman claimed that the Dutchman could not spot the basics and said he should have been able to stop a tactic that has been around for ‘100 years’.