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Liverpool manager Arne Slot insists his reigning English champions can still do “special things” this season as they prepare to face Premier League leaders Arsenal following a faltering start to their title defence. Slot’s men head to the Emirates for Thursday’s clash in fourth place in the table, but 14 points adrift of the Gunners. However, following on from a run of nine defeats in 12 games in all competitions, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last nine – although that sequence includes four draws. Those draws include a goalless stalemate against Leeds and a 2-2 share of the spoils with Fulham in their first two Premier League fixtures of 2026. “It is nine games unbeaten but we have definitely had two draws too many,” Slot said. Slot, who guided Liverpool to an impressive title triumph in his first season in charge at Anfield after succeeding Jurgen Klopp, added: “Where are we? I think I’ve said so many times that the answer to that question is we aren’t where we want to be, but I feel we have a very talented squad. If everyone’s available and ready, then I think we can do special things.” They certainly gave that impression earlier in the season when Liverpool beat Arsenal 1-0 at Anfield in August. However, a crisis up front, in terms of personnel, casts doubt over their achieving the double over the Gunners. Hugo Ekitike is a major doubt after missing the Fulham draw because of a hamstring problem. The Reds are also without Alexander Isak through injury, while Mohamed Salah remains at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. Slot said he hoped his side would become more consistent. “We haven’t had the consistency but we’ve already beaten some very good teams, so that tells you the talent is definitely there but the consistency isn’t,” he said. They have recorded some notable victories, home successes against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid and a 5-1 romp away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League. But on the flip side, Liverpool have suffered three-goal defeats at home three times this season, against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven. “This club has shown so many times that when they don’t have the greatest form in the league, they are still able to win other trophies,” said Slot. “We just haven’t had consistency against the clubs where we would usually win which adds to the fact that we are now 14 points behind Arsenal.” They now face a renewed test of their form against the Gunners, with Arsenal bidding to be crowned champions of England for the first time in more than 20 years. “There’s a lot of importance on this match because we still have a lot to play for in the Premier League,” said Slot. “We are also in the FA Cup and the Champions League, which are knockout games and games where you face teams like Arsenal, so it will be a chance for us to see where we are in a one-off game. We are going up against a very, very good Arsenal team.” The Dutchman said the daunting things for his side is Arsenal are the “complete package”. “For that reason, in my opinion, they deserve to be on top this season.” 

Liverpool are awaiting scan results they fear will confirm record signing Alexander Isak has suffered a broken leg after he was injured in their win against Tottenham, reports said.The Sweden forward was hurt in the act of scoring the opening goal in Saturday's 2-1 victory in London after a sliding challenge from Spurs defender Micky van der Ven. Isak, 26, who had come on as a second-half substitute, was unable to celebrate with his teammates and left the pitch in considerable distress. Immediately after the game Liverpool boss Arne Slot admitted the injury was "not a good thing"."If a player doesn't even try to come back, that is usually not a good thing but I cannot say anything more than that," he said. "That is just gut feeling and nothing medical... let's not be too negative yet. We don't know yet. Let's hope he is back with us soon."Reports said that Liverpool fear Isak has broken his leg, which would mean a lengthy period on the sidelines. Isak has had a disrupted start to his life at Anfield, making just 16 appearances and scoring three goals since his £125mn ($168mn) British record move from Newcastle on transfer deadline day.A dispute with Newcastle meant he did not have a proper pre-season programme and arrived at Anfield well behind his team-mates in terms of fitness. His season was then interrupted by a groin injury. Any absence would be a major blow for Slot, with Mohamed Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations and Cody Gakpo not ready to return from a muscle injury until early in the yew year.It leaves the Liverpool manager with Hugo Ekitike, who has five goals in his past four games, and the little-used Federico Chiesa as his only senior forwards. Liverpool, whose Premier League title defence collapsed after a shocking run of results, have climbed to fifth in the table after extending their unbeaten league run to five games. 

Arne Slot said there was "no issue to resolve" after Mohamed Salah returned for Liverpool's 2-0 win against Brighton on Saturday – a week after he took aim at the club in a fiery interview.Hugo Ekitike scored at Anfield after 46 seconds and Salah, brought off the substitutes' bench in the first half, set up the Frenchman's second goal after the break. Salah, 33, last week accused the faltering Premier League champions of throwing him "under the bus" after he was left on the bench for the 3-3 draw at Leeds – the third match in a row that he had not started.The Egyptian also said that he had no relationship with Liverpool manager Slot when he spoke to reporters after the match at Elland Road. He was omitted from the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, which Liverpool won 1-0, and was the subject of intense scrutiny in the build-up to Saturday's home game. Slot said at Friday's pre-match press conference that he would speak to the forward later in the day, adding: "I have no reasons (for) not wanting him to stay."Speaking to reporters after the win against Brighton, the Dutchman said there was "no issue to resolve" with Salah, whose corner was headed home by Ekitike in the 60th minute. "For me he's now the same as any other player," he said. "You talk to your players if you're happy or unhappy with things, but there's nothing for me to talk about after what happened against Leeds, after the game."Slot confirmed that the winger was left out of the squad for the fixture in Italy due to his interview but defended his approach. "The question is always, and everybody has a different opinion about that, should he be (left out) once, twice, three times, four times, four months, 12 years? Every manager makes different decisions in that, but he wasn't involved in the game against Milan and I spoke to him Saturday."And I think, as I usually never say anything about (what) we talk about, I'm not going to make an exception now, but I think actions speak louder than what has been said. He was in the squad again and when I had to make my first substitutions, I brought him in. And he performed as I think every fan, including me, would like him to perform today."Salah now has 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League – 188 goals and 89 assists – a new record by a player for a single club in the competition, overtaking Wayne Rooney's mark for Manchester United. Salah, who signed a new two-year contract in April, now departs for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The length of his absence depends on how far Egypt go in the competition in Morocco, with the final on January 18.The forward, who has been linked with a move to the wealthy Saudi Pro League, had invited his family to the Brighton game as speculation swirled over his future. Slot laughed off a question about whether the match could have been Salah's last for the club."He wasn't the only player who walked around the pitch thanking the fans, because the fans deserved a thank you from us," he said. He added: "Mo is going to go to the AFCON now, I hope he's going to do very well, and in the meantime we have to play here without him, with not that many players available at the moment."Salah, third in Liverpool's all-time scoring charts with 250 goals, has won two Premier League titles and one Champions League crown during his spell on Merseyside.He scored 29 Premier League goals to win the Premier League Golden Boot last season as Liverpool romped to a 20th English league title, but has managed just four league goals during the current campaign. Saturday's victory for Liverpool was their first at Anfield since November 4 and lifts Slot's men to sixth in the table, easing the pressure on the beleaguered coach. 

Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp says it is "theoretically possible" he could return to the Anfield hot seat one day, but he is convinced current boss Arne Slot will guide the club through the rough patch they are going through.Klopp left Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season after leading the Merseyside club to almost every major honour during his nine-year spell, including Champions League and Premier League triumphs. The 58-year-old German was succeeded by Slot, who became the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League."I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means if (I go back), then it's Liverpool. So yeah, theoretically it's possible," Klopp said. However, he said he is content in his current role as head of global soccer for Red Bull."I love what I do now. I don't miss coaching. I do coach but it's just different, it's not players," Klopp said. "I don't miss standing in the rain for two-and-a-half or three hours. I also don't miss going to press conferences three times a week ... I don't miss being in the dressing room... I'm 58. From your perspective that might be old, but from other perspectives, it's not that old. That means I could make a decision in a few years. I don't know."Liverpool have suffered four consecutive defeats for the first time since November 2014 following Sunday's 2-1 home loss to Manchester United but Klopp was confident Slot will turn things around with players like Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike at his disposal. "Wirtz, you all will eat your words if you use the wrong words. He's an incredible talent," he added. "Ekitike, incredible player. Just the offensive players ... it's a really, really good squad. So you don't have to worry about Liverpool, they will be fine."Liverpool 'better team' despite losing streak, says Frankfurt coachEintracht Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoeller said that Liverpool have been "the better team in every game" of their four-match losing streak, as his side prepares to take on the Reds in the Champions League Wednesday.Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool are in the midst of surprising slump given that they bolstered their squad over the close-season to the tune of nearly £450mn ($604mn) worth of new signings. Arne Slot's team lost 2-1 to arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday, coming after defeats against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea. Liverpool had not lost four in a row for more than a decade.Speaking to reporters, Toppmoeller said that Sunday's game "could have been 4-2 for Liverpool", adding that the Reds "are not in top form, only in the sense of their results. "When you watch the games, which of course we did, you see that they seem to lack a bit of a spark at the moment," the 44-year-old said. "But in every game, they've been the better team and have had more chances at goal. We're expecting a world-class team tomorrow," Toppmoeller said, adding that the English champions would arrive in Frankfurt highly motivated. "You've got to be aware of what it does to a team to lose four in a row."Liverpool's last four-game losing streak came in November 2014 under former manager Brendan Rodgers. One of the team's issues is the dip in form suffered by star forward Mo Salah. But Toppmoeller said that the Egyptian "was probably among the top three players in the world over the past decade -- and still is."Another Red not delivering his best is Germany's £100 million midfielder Florian Wirtz, who is returning to his home country for the first time since moving to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer. Toppmoeller said that Wirtz's performances were "quite decent, even if he hasn't got the numbers he had in Leverkusen."He's at a club where the spotlight is so bright and where people across the world are always watching. "I'm incredibly convinced of his quality. I hope he doesn't show that tomorrow, that's something we should worry about."

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said “results don’t lie” after a three-game losing streak as he called for defensive improvements ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Anfield Sunday.The Premier League champions won their opening seven games of the season in all competitions, but poor performances were masked by a series of late goals. Liverpool suffered defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray in the Champions League and Chelsea before the international break, leaving them to fall one point behind title rivals Arsenal.After romping to the title last season, Liverpool splashed out nearly £450mn ($604mn) on new signings, paying club-record fees for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, neither of whom have yet scored a Premier League goal.At the other end of the pitch, Slot’s men have conceded two or more goals in four of their seven Premier League games. “We’ve played 10, won seven and lost three. The three loses were by close margins,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference. “But as I keep saying, we should not be dependent on such margins. Results don’t lie – if you lose three in a row then you have to do better. We are aware of that and we have to react.”Mohamed Salah’s sensational form propelled Liverpool to the title last season, but the 33-year-old Egyptian has so far struggled to adjust to the changes made to the side during the transfer window. Slot pinpointed a lack of game-changing moments from his star-studded forward line and problems at set-pieces.“We haven’t created as many chances as last season and there’s a reason for that – the playing style of the opponent, and we have to find answers to that,” he said. “The first answer is not to concede as many goals as we did. If a team scores one or two goals then we need three goals. In the first half of last season we mainly got these goals from a special moment from one of our front three. The second half (of the season) we needed set pieces against a low block. This season we haven’t had those special moments and we haven’t scored from set pieces. It’s clear that conceding four goals from set pieces is far too much for a team that wants to compete.”Goalkeeper Alisson Becker remains out with a hamstring injury, but there was better injury news for Liverpool as Ryan Gravenberch is fit to face United despite coming off injured for the Netherlands during the international break.Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said the support of co-owner Jim Ratcliffe will mean little if he fails to turn around the club’s fortunes. In an interview last week, British billionaire Ratcliffe said Amorim has to “demonstrate he is a great coach over three years”.Amorim is approaching a year in the Old Trafford hotseat and is yet to win back-to-back Premier League games. Doing so away to Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow would be a major step in the right direction and the Portuguese knows he will be under intense pressure until results improve.“You know, I know and Jim knows that football is not like that,” Amorim said at his pre-match press conference, referring to Ratcliffe’s timescale. “The most important thing is the next game.”United ended the season 15th in the Premier League last term – their lowest finish for 51 years – and squandered a chance to qualify for the Champions League when they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham. They have fared little better this season, sitting 10th in the Premier League after losing three of their first seven league games and crashing to a shock League Cup defeat at fourth-tier Grimsby.Yet Amorim has so far retained the support of Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox. “First of all, I can feel it. It’s not just that thing that people talk, I feel it every day. Sometimes the pressure that I put on the team, on myself, is so much bigger than them,” said Amorim. “I know that it’s going to take a while but I don’t want to think like that. I said that last year. I think it also helps our fans to understand that the leadership understands that it’s going to take a while. But, at the same moment, I don’t like that because it will give a feeling that we have time to work things out. I don’t want that feeling here in our club. It’s good to feel the support but we need to prove in football, and especially in big clubs, that in every weekend we are ready to win games.”A 2-0 victory over Sunderland before the international break eased the scrutiny on Amorim’s position.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot blasted Hugo Ekitike for a stupid sending-off after tapping home a winner against Southampton in the League Cup on Tuesday and then removing his shirt in celebration. The Frenchman, who replaced record signing Alexander Isak at half-time, had been booked already for kicking the ball away in frustration and the second yellow five minutes from time left Liverpool defending a 2-1 third-round lead with 10 men.Liverpool captain Andy Robertson told said it was a stupid thing to do when on a yellow card and Slot doubled down afterwards. “I think it’s also stupid if you haven’t had a yellow card yet,” he said.“Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, maybe a bit old school, but I did score a few goals – not at this level – as well and if I maybe outplay three players, which I never did, and then hit it in the top corner, then maybe you can say ‘oh, this is all about me.’“But if I had to score a goal like he did tonight, I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and would say ‘It’s all about you, Federico. Great assist, great run and I didn’t have to do a lot’. It was stupid, not smart in every sense... he’s now suspended for Saturday and that is far from ideal.”Ekitike later apologised on Instagram: “The emotion got the better of me tonight,” he said. “My apologies to all the Red family...”League leaders Liverpool, with a 100% record so far this season, have a tricky away trip to unbeaten Crystal Palace next in the league. Slot fielded a completely changed starting lineup on Tuesday from the side that played Everton on Saturday, with Isak starting and scoring his first goal for the club.“It wasn’t our best performance, which probably has a lot to do with players that haven’t played for a long time or for the first time,” he said. The manager said Isak would get increasing game time, with Liverpool trying to build him up faster than usual, but did not expect him to be fully up to speed until after the next international break.Club World Cup champions Chelsea suffered an early scare at third tier Lincoln City but came back from a goal down at half-time to win 2-1 with teenager Tyrique George equalising in the 48th and providing the assist for Facundo Buonanotte’s 50th-minute winner.League One (third tier) Cardiff City provided the upset of the eight games on the programme by beating top flight Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor. Premier League bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers won their top flight clash 2-0 against Everton, who had James Garner hit the bar with a second-half free kick and Jack Grealish coming off the bench.Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gomez scored four, including a 24-minute first-half hat-trick, as Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion thumped third tier Barnsley 6-0 at Oakwell to reach the fourth round for the fifth time in six seasons. Second tier Wrexham gave their Hollywood owners another home night to savour by beating Reading 2-0, with Nathan Broadhead scoring both – his first for the Welsh side who go through to the fourth round for the first time since 1977.Premier League Fulham beat fourth tier visitors Cambridge United 1-0 at Craven Cottage with Emile Smith Rowe scoring the 66th-minute winner. Championship side Swansea City and fourth tier giantkillers Grimsby Town are already through to the fourth round along with Premier League Brentford and Crystal Palace.