What a difference a few weeks can make in a league as competitive as the PL! At the end of Week 5, Liverpool had a 100% record and were top of the table. Fast forward to GW11, and Arne Slot’s men have crashed to 8th in the standings. The defending champions were soundly beaten by Manchester City over the weekend in their last game before the international break. Mere defeat at the Etihad would probably not have stung- there is no shame after all in losing to a Guardiola coached team, but the manner of the defeat certainly would have- City completely dominated proceedings and the Reds looked bereft of ideas.

Liverpool, as you can see, have already lost five league games in 25/26, and we’re only about 30% into the season. By comparison, they only lost four times in the entirety of 2024/25. Slot has only won one of his last six league games and question marks are being asked about the likes of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong- all big-money acquisitions by the Reds in the recently concluded summer transfer window.

Here is how the table looked after 5 matches- you can also see the current one for comparison above, and their loss of form is alarming.

What was a five point lead for LFC over Arsenal has now turned into an eight-point deficit. Worryingly for LFC, City also seem to have rediscovered their mojo and have moved to second in the table.

A quick look at the PL odds at the big name sportsbooks via BetZillion indicates that the Gunners are now strong favourites to lift the crown, with Liverpool having fallen away in the last few weeks. The Reds’ famed physicality and tireless pressing, a prominent feature under former manager Jurgen Klopp, seems to have diminished, and with it, so has their points tally on the log.

LFC gaffer Slot had no qualms in admitting that his side were second best to City at the Etihad, especially in the first half. They managed just one shot on target in the entire game, and that was a long range one from the boot of Hungarian medio Dominik Szoboszlai in the 76th minute.

Jeremy Doku was a constant menace to Liverpool at the Etihad, with the Belgian scoring a second half worldie. He also earned City an early penalty which was squandered by Erling Haaland. It was testament to City’s dominance that they could comfortably afford the luxury of a missed spot kick against their bitter rivals.

Liverpool did find the back of the net through Virgil van Dijk late in the first half, but it was disallowed for offside.

The nature of the loss, as mentioned earlier, will sting for the Reds, and was a big setback after narrow wins over Villa and Real Madrid had hinted at a potential corner being turned.

The league will now take a break for the November internationals, and LFC’s first task after the break is a home fixture against Nottingham Forest followed by a CL one against PSV Eindhoven. Both games are very winnable on paper, and Slot will be hoping that it reflects on the scoreboard too. Interestingly, Forest were the first team to get the better of LFC last season, so there’s an element of revenge in there for the Reds as well!