Liverpool entered the 2025/26 campaign full of confidence, but have seemingly fallen into a rut in recent weeks. New manager Arne Slot had led the team to a decisive victory last year, which warranted huge spending in the summer to bolster an already dangerously good squad. But this season has seen the wheels at the club come falling off. The freshened squad has been built upon that left by legendary manager Jurgen Klopp and managed to succeed all of last season and the beginning of the current season, but saw a huge crumble in October.
Many Liverpool supporters, neutral fans, and bettors alike expected the club to dominate the Premier League again this season after a strong summer of signings and last year’s commanding performances. Those using online betting sites likely found few generous odds on Liverpool securing back-to-back titles, as even the best platforms reflected their overwhelming form from the previous campaign. However, October proved to be a month to forget for Slot and his squad, with an early Carabao Cup exit and several league defeats ending hopes of a successful title defence.
With Arteta’s Arsenal seeming to be working like a machine, and Erling Haaland seeming to be single-handedly dragging Manchester City to victories, things soured for the Reds. Liverpool’s new signings, namely Wirtz, have struggled to adapt to English football. The fickle nature of football fans has meant some have called for Slot’s replacement, whilst others want to continue to give the Dutchman a chance, given his impressive first season at the club. It seems that there is continued backing from the board at the moment, and given time with the new players, along with some time for the whole team to grieve the untimely and, frankly, terrible loss of Diogo Jota in the summer, you would assume this team will come fighting back to the very top.
And last night’s performance may just be the starting block for a resurgence. Having escaped a few scares from Mbappe and co, they managed to secure an impressive 1-0 win at Anfield against Los Blancos. Much of the build up to the game was focused on the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Anfield in the white colours of Real Madrid and whilst some jeering in the 78th minute when the English right back took to the field for Madrid, the real story of the night came from an impressive performance for the Reds who have now managed to place themselves 6th in the Champions League group table. Chances squandered by both Szobozlai and Van Dijk patterned out a similar tale for Liverpool, with many starting to worry it could be more of the same, but a 61st-minute header from Alexis MacAllister was enough to secure the win for this struggling side, who seem to have found their form again. This impressive win comes on the back of a more convincing 2-0 win against Aston Villa in their last Premier League match.
The most encouraging thing for Liverpool over these last 2 victories is that they have not conceded. Having prided themselves on such a solid defensive unit for so long, the latest rut saw them ship goals, especially in the latter stages of the game, and not score enough. But last night proved they can defend against the world’s very best; they just need to gain some of that confidence back to put together a winning run once more. They will need to dust themselves off and get right back to it quickly, following last night’s result; however, as they face Pep Guardiola’s storming Manchester City team in the prime-time Super Sunday game this weekend. A win here would push all the doubters aside, but a loss could catastrophise an already fragile situation for this Reds team. Slot and his team will want to make sure they get a result at all costs.
