LIVERPOOL — Troubled Liverpool’s miserable season spiralled further into turmoil as PSV Eindhoven swept to a stunning 4-1 win at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Arne Slot’s side trailed to Ivan Perisic’s early penalty and Dominik Szoboszlai’s equaliser did nothing to galvanise the Reds.
Second-half goals from Guus Til and Couhaib Driouech, who netted twice, condemned the woeful Premier League champions to a ninth defeat in their last 12 matches in all competitions.
It is Liverpool’s worst run since 1953-54 as pressure mounts on the beleaguered Slot, with jeers from angry fans greeting the final whistle.
Beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield last weekend, Liverpool have lost three successive games, conceding 10 goals in the process.
“The emotions are very negative and disappointing, but I have to be positive about the reaction of the players after we went 1-0 down,” Slot said.
“Because I think until half-time we played a very good game. We had enough chances to go 2-1 up. At half-time I don’t think anyone would have expected us to lose this game 4-1.
“It would be nice if we don’t get this knock of a goal we concede. We just have to face where we are and fight really hard.”
The Reds, losers in six of their last seven Premier League matches, were expected to dominate on all fronts this term after following last season’s title triumph with a summer spending spree.
But Liverpool head to West Ham on Sunday languishing in 12th place in the Premier League — the first time in more than a decade they have been in the bottom half of the table.
With their title hopes in tatters, Liverpool can’t be certain of reaching the Champions League last 16 either after a second defeat in five games in the tournament.
It was their first home defeat in the opening phase of the Champions League in five years.
The Reds are in 13th place in the league phase, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the last 16.
Slot admitted on Tuesday that he feels “guilty” over Liverpool’s “ridiculous” slump.
But the Dutchman appears to have no answers to Liverpool’s crisis and the sight of empty red seats all around the stadium in the closing stages provided a damning verdict on their stunning decline.
