Arne Slot told to axe two stars to avoid Liverpool sack as FOUR truly horrific stats underline struggles

Arne Slot has been warned he will be further risking the Liverpool sack if he persists with picking two badly out-of-form players, while four utterly abysmal stats have emerged that have illustrated just how far the club has fallen amid a 71-year low.

Slot led the Reds to Premier League glory in his first season at the helm, earning widespread – and much deserved – acclaim in the process. But it has been a thoroughly different story this time around, despite a gigantic £440m (€505m, $600m) summer rebuild that saw the champions’ squad dismantled and replaced with several big-money signings.

Now, off the back of an incredible run of form that has seen Liverpool lose nine of their last 12 games in all competitions, the heat is seriously intensifying over Slot’s future.

The fans have seemingly seen enough and, off the back of Wednesday’s alarming 4-1 home defeat to PSV in the Champions League, calls for the “clueless” Dutchman to be fired have grown louder than ever.

That loss on Wednesday saw four horrific stats emerge that will give club owners FSG serious cause for concern.

The stats, all courtesy of OptaJoe, state

• Liverpool have lost nine of their last 12 games across all competitions, their most defeats over a 12-game spell since November 1953 to January 1954 (also 9) – a 71-year low
• Liverpool have lost three consecutive games in all competitions by a margin of 3+ goals for the first time since December 1953.
• Liverpool have conceded 3+ goals in three consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since September 1992.
• Captain Virgil van Dijk has conceded three penalties in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League player.

Moreover, a reliable Liverpool source has revealed to TEAMtalk the club’s stance on sacking the 47-year-old, as the Reds continue to fall down the Premier League table, and we understand a shock candidate to replace him has been identified.

In the wake of that defeat to the Eredivisie leaders, Sky Sports pundit Michael Dawson has picked apart their “unacceptable” performance and feels Liverpool’s struggles are underpinned by two struggling stars – Milos Kerkez and Ibrahima Konate – who he feels must now be taken out the firing line if the manager is to save his skin…

MORE ON SLOT SACK

🔴 Slot told he has THREE games to prevent Liverpool sack as most ‘unacceptable’ aspect of PSV loss is revealed

🔴 Slot sack verdict in as three Liverpool journalists drop bombshells

Arne Slot sack? Liverpool boss told he must drop two stars to save himself

Asked if Wednesday’s loss was worse than the 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, Dawson told Sky Sports: “100% without a shadow of doubt. And I probably didn’t give PSV enough respect, when you’ve seen they are clear at the top of the Eredivisie after 13 games with 34 points, but I still expected Liverpool to turn up tonight and win, and show a reaction from Saturday.

“Nine defeats in 12 games: I mean, that is disastrous. That is a team that is lacking any self-belief, anything going forward, they fall behind after six minutes, and I think, here we go. Slot got a response, and I thought they’d go on to win it from here.

“They were looking very confident in the wide areas, pretty much what I saw at the weekend against Nottingham Forest, but then second half, I expected them to come out and hit the ground running. How wrong was I?

“There was only one team out there in the second half, and when they got the noses in front, PSV, they were absolutely dominant.

“And the goal probably summed it up. Junior goes past [Mo] Salah as if he’s not there. I mean, it’s on the halfway line, so you think, all right, he’s an attacking player. You don’t have to defend, trust me, when you’re in the rut that they’re in at this moment, you must defend everything; you scrap, you fight, you kick the ball out of play, you do whatever you can do to try and get a result. And they didn’t show that…

“Kerkez is guilty of switching off. Junior cuts inside, he puts the ball in the back of the net. And from that moment, then you think, can they respond?

“And Liverpool just haven’t got that fight at the moment or the belief, individually and collectively.

“Then the mistake from Konate (shakes head), and then he gets taken off. I just looked around, and I think Arne Slot has to make changes now.

“He has to bring [Andy] Robertson in [for Kerkez] and he has to bring Joe Gomez in [for Konate] because these players we touched on it before, but they are absolutely drained of all confidence.”

Latest Liverpool news: FSG left with no choice, shock Harvey Elliott twist

Meanwhile, three journalists who primarily cover Liverpool have summed up the crisis at Anfield right now, and one doesn’t see any way Slot can continue in his role as manager.

In a surprise turn of events, Harvey Elliott is increasingly unlikely to be signed permanently by Aston Villa, and he could yet end up back with Liverpool in a shock twist, to give Slot another option in attack this season, a source has explained to TEAMtalk.

Elsewhere on the transfer front, Liverpool are unlikely to sign “dream target” any time soon, two sources have confirmed, with a move for a big-money alternative gathering pace and potentially on the Reds’ agenda in the January window too.

However, there is movement on the Marc Guehi front and the Reds are reported to have launched a new cash bid to sign Crystal Palace captain ahead of the January window – and sources believe there is a genuine chance they can sign the England star, with the Eagles identifying a top-tier replacement.