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For the first time since 1953, Liverpool has lost three games on the bounce by three goals. Arne Slot’s side has now lost nine of its last 12 in all competitions, in a forgettable and ultimately unacceptable run.
Talk about the Reds boss being under pressure, then, is here to stay. And such is the level of rot, even if Liverpool had played well midweek, there would be no such guarantee for the weekend’s trip to West Ham.
As it was, Liverpool performed far from convincingly. In the first half, it was fine, and looked primed to kick on having leveled things up at 1-1. After the half-time break, however, it fell to pieces in a worryingly limp fashion.
So far this season, the formula has been simple enough for Liverpool's opponents. Go long. Play for set-pieces. Be physical.
Here, though, a new concern emerged. PSV didn’t try to do what the likes of Nottingham Forest and Brentford have done to Liverpool — it was able to play through it, and with ease.
Arne Slot has bemoaned his team being too easy to beat aerially on multiple occasions in the last few months.
That isn’t acceptable, either, of course, but this was arguably even worse. Liverpool was outplayed, even with the ball on the floor.
In the center of the field, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch might well have laid out a red carpet for the PSV contingent to stroll through. Whenever the visitor attacked, there was next to no resistance.
PSV is the Eredivisie leader, of course, and its roster contains some good players. At its peak, though, this would have been a routine win for Liverpool against a team that played into its hands.
What actually unfolded, however, was a meek showing, with little in the way of pressing. Dominik Szoboszlai emerged with credit, but no one else did.
No longer can Slot say that teams can only physically outdo his team. PSV, a team with more technique than brawn, has shown just how low the levels of confidence currently are among the Reds players: they even lost by three goals in a game that should, on paper, have suited them.
Thirteenth in the Champions League standings, Liverpool should still get through to the knockout phase. This game, though, showed just how weak they have become and how much work there is left to do.
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Confidence is shot. The gaps are far too wide. Liverpool, Curtis Jones said, is in the s**t. Ibrahima Konate looks completely devoid of confidence. Collectively, the players are a mile off where they need to be.
There will be more questions about the manager, inevitably. Slot, though, can only do so much.
Going with a more defensive approach isn’t a long-term fix, and while Gary Neville might talk of putting some more defenders into the team, the Liverpool head coach simply doesn’t have any others to put on. Joe Gomez is not fit enough currently, and Wataru Endo — the only other option — would be yet another filling in out of position.
Quite what the answer is remains to be seen. What we do know now, though, is that it isn't just teams that can overpower Liverpool that will earn success against it. After PSV, the list of problems has only further increased.
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