Maximum points Liverpool can get this season paints sorry picture for Arne Slot

Liverpool ended last season with 84 points but even a run of 15 successive Premier League wins between now and the end of this campaign would not be enough to match that tally

Arne Slot after Liverpool's loss to Bournemouth(Image: 2026 Catherine Ivill - AMA)

Liverpool's hopes of Champions League qualification took a hit on Saturday as Bournemouth scored a scruffy stoppage time winner to end the Reds' long unbeaten run.

Arne Slot's men had not lost in 13 games heading into the clash on the South Coast, but Amine Adli's 95th-minute winner sent the Reds home empty-handed.

Given the length of the unbeaten run that preceded the loss to Bournemouth, one could be forgiven for thinking this loss was just a minor blip.

But the reality is that the unbeaten run included six draws, all of which came in the Premier League, and Liverpool has now won just five of its last 18 games in the top flight.

With 15 league games of the season remaining, there are 45 points still to play for, so Liverpool still has plenty of chances to ensure it does secure qualification for the 2026-27 Champions League – but there has been little to suggest that the team is capable of putting a run together to ensure that goal is achieved.

The maximum total that Liverpool could end up on is 81 points – which means that even if the team wins each of those remaining 15 games, it would end the season with three points fewer than the 84 it managed when winning the title last term.

To add further context to Liverpool's struggles, it should be noted that the Reds had racked up 36 points after 15 league games last season, and that is exactly the same points tally that they find themselves on after 23 games this time around.

Amine Adli celebrates after scoring a late winner for Bournemouth against Liverpool(Image: 2026 Getty Images)

Liverpool has the added challenge of juggling a schedule which also includes Champions League and FA Cup games during the run-in, and Arne Slot admitted that his players appeared to run out of energy against Bournemouth.

"Frustrating, of course, [to lose the game]," Slot said. "Because conceding a goal is always frustrating but especially if there's no time left to come back into the game.

"I think it's safe to say they (Bournemouth) could have scored the 3-2 also a little bit earlier and what I mean with that is I think after we scored [to equalize and make it] 2-2, we were still trying but I think it's safe to say a few players of ours ran out of energy.

"I cannot even criticise them for that because two days ago we had to play an away game in Europe. We are the only team that played [in the] Champions League that has two days between in this time."