The main word on the lips of the Holte End at full-time was ‘Istanbul’ as Aston Villa fans sang about their upcoming jaunt to the Turkish metropolis for next week’s Europa League final.
As for Arne Slot, who cut a forlorn figure on the touchline and looked like a broken man, well, he needs a miracle akin to the one Liverpool conjured up in Istanbul all those years ago if he is to come back from his current position as a man the fanbase have decided is not the one.
Like Liverpool at half-time in that fabled final of 2005, where the Reds were 3-0 down but came back to win, Slot looks down and out.
His team still have Champions League qualification in their hands but two daring teams on the south coast, Bournemouth and Brighton, will fancy their chances of doing the unthinkable and leapfrogging the reigning Premier League kings into that final spot at Europe’s top table.
Though Unai Emery’s men had an era-defining final to look forward to on Wednesday, they were the team that seemed to want this victory more. They had more energy, looked fitter and carved open Liverpool’s torrid defence with ease.
‘You’re getting sacked in the morning,’ sang the Villa Park faithful in the direction of Slot. Just a day earlier, the Dutchman told us, with a fair degree of certainty, that he will be the Liverpool boss next season. The club holds the same belief – but how long can that last?
Arne Slot has made Liverpool a feeble mess and needs a miracle to turn things around
Liverpool could slip out of the Champions League places after their thumping by Villa
How long can the top brass at Anfield ignore this alarming slump? The head coach had credit in the bank for winning the league title at a canter last season – but has he now burned through that and reached a point of bust?
When he begins next term, as he and many insist he will do, then he will start in an overdraft, to stick with that admittedly forced analogy. Fans have seen enough and many want change, especially with former Kop favourite Xabi Alonso readily available.
‘I can understand that, at this moment in time, (the fans) don’t have a lot of confidence or a lot of feeling that things can be much better next season but I think then they are underestimating what a window can do, what a new start can do,’ he said.
‘I think we know quite well what to improve. One of the things we have to improve is very, very obvious and I would have preferred not to talk about it here but you’re actually almost forcing me to.’
He then went on to talk about injuries which is a fair excuse, however not one which should exonerate him or his side. His back four here featured three of those he would consider as his strongest defence, his midfield trio was the one that played most weeks last season.
Slot has not shown anything to give fans belief he is the man to turn this wretched team around. He still might and he has insisted in the past he has ‘100 per cent’ belief that next season will be better but there is no evidence to suggest that will be the case.
Indeed, sporting director Richard Hughes went to Holland with a 60-page dossier on why Slot was the man to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Fans could probably compile a document of similar length now with reasons why they no longer see him as the right man.
It is sad how it has all unfolded. Going into this season, there was a belief this was the start of a dynasty. They had won the league and signed two of the best players in Europe in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak – plus several other talented youngsters – and were poised to kick on.
Slot insisted that he has the backing of the board but how long can that last?
They have not. They have gone backwards, this a 20th loss of the season and with 51 goals conceded. All the evidence is that this crisis is only getting more serious, too, and Liverpool are getting worse. Lessons are not being learned.
Several areas must be addressed in the transfer market, namely at least one wide forward and a holding midfielder. But alongside new players, the Reds must also sort out their set-piece woes. A specialist coach would help.
Two more conceded from dead-ball situations at Villa Park, the first one particularly alarming given the space Morgan Rogers found himself in, mean Slot’s team have now conceded 20 set-piece goals this season – no Premier League team has let in more.
However annoying those set-piece gurus might be when they patrol the touchlines and make everything about themselves, Liverpool need one right now, even though we could counter-argue that Virgil van Dijk scored two headers from such situations at the other end.
They were not too much better at defending open-play situations. The first half was not great but OK, then there was a promising spell just after the break. But from about 50 minutes onwards, Slot’s team were chasing shadows.
Ollie Watkins and Rogers could not believe their luck as, time and again, they found acres of room to run into behind Liverpool’s back line. Why was there so much space? Why did it feel like Villa were going to score every time they ventured over the halfway line?
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This was damaging for Slot who now will be tuning into games featuring Bournemouth and Brighton in the coming days and hoping they drop points which, in itself, is damning of how far this team have fallen this year.
‘It’s damaging because we needed either a win or maybe, maybe, maybe two draws would have been enough as well,’ added Slot. ‘But now we know one thing for sure – we need a win next week if we have to do it ourselves.’
Should either of those teams win both of their final games and Liverpool lose at home to Brentford next week, they will leapfrog Slot’s men. A lot of ifs, buts and maybes but, given what we have watched this year, would you put money on the Anfield team right now?
They are a feeble mess who are bullied several times a month. This was a sixth defeat in the last 10, a run that has seen just three wins. In away games against fellow top nine teams this season, Liverpool have a single point from a possible 24: seven defeats, one draw.
So on to Brentford we go. What was supposed to be a farewell for Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson – and who knows who else? – will no longer be a stress-free environment but a nervy, must-win affair… unless both Bournemouth and Brighton drop points in the coming days.
Going back to October, Liverpool lost 3-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium and the main memory of that day was of the Bees bullying their opponents. A direct style and a match that was made into a scrap and Slot’s men threw in the towel and could not compete.
‘Have a good weekend and see you all in Istanbul,’ said Unai Emery as he stood up and departed his press conference with a smile on his face. His demeanour was in complete contrast to Slot, who looked dejected yet again.
Villa spent barely a penny last summer and have taken a giant leap forward, back in the Champions League with a Europa League final to look forward to. Liverpool, meanwhile, spent £450million and have only gone backwards.
And this still might not be the lowest ebb of this rotten campaign.
