2 weeks ago
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A fourth consecutive loss means Liverpool is in the midst of its most difficult spell in 11 years after Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Anfield, with trips to Eintracht Frankfurt and Brentford coming up next.
Following Cody Gakpo's equalizer, after Bryan Mbeumo's second-minute opener, Harry Maguire's late header secured the Red Devils' first away victory at Liverpool in almost a decade.
Here is how the UK national media rounded up the action at Anfield, with plenty of questions for Arne Slot to find the answer to in the coming weeks and months as his side looks to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City.
Daily Mirror - John Cross
"The last place Ruben Amorim probably expected to banish his most unwanted record was Anfield," wrote Cross.
"But, sure enough, it says everything about the current state of Liverpool's form that Amorim finally won back-to-back Premier League games 11 months into his reign as Manchester United manager. Incredibly, Liverpool have now lost four games in a row for the first time since November 2014 and the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear for Arne Slot.
"Liverpool, the reigning champions, are just not right. They are just not clicking and, despite such a promising start, their raft of new signings do not look like a team."
Cross continued: "Let's be clear: Liverpool wasted so many chances. They will be kicking themselves. But United fought so hard and victories are rarely sweeter than against their great rivals."
BBC Sport - Phil McNulty
"The sight of the downcast and dejected Mohamed Salah trudging off as Liverpool desperately chased an equaliser against Manchester United was an ominous symbol of their current struggles," wrote McNulty.
"If there was one player in recent Anfield history who would be backed to conjure up a match-saving moment of magic it is 'The Egyptian King', the spearhead of all Liverpool's recent successes.
"And yet there was Salah, replaced by Jeremie Frimpong moments after Harry Maguire had headed what proved to be Manchester United's 84th-minute winner in a 2-1 triumph, their first at Anfield for more than a decade.
"If they lose for the fifth time in a row to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, it would be the first time Liverpool have suffered this fate since September 1953.
"Salah slashed unconvincingly at a golden opportunity, underlining the 33-year-old's current lack of form and confidence, extending his run without scoring a non-penalty goal to seven games.
"Doubting world-class players is always a dangerous occupation, but Salah has looked out of sorts this season, left out of the Champions League defeat by Galatasaray in Istanbul, then being substituted here with Liverpool trying to rescue a point."
The Guardian - Andy Hunter
"The time has come to start judging Alexander Isak fairly as a £125m Liverpool centre forward, Arne Slot said on Friday," wrote Hunter.
"In that case judgment must be harsh but, as Britain's most expensive footballer sat alongside Mohamed Salah on the Liverpool bench while the Premier League champions tried in vain to force an equaliser against Manchester United without them, it was not Slot's misfiring forward line that warranted the fiercest criticism at Anfield. His defensive foundation has evaporated.
"Yes, Isak was largely anonymous in the No 9 role and Salah again poor as his individual toils continued against the club he usually plunders."
Hunter continued: "It should have been impossible for Liverpool to lose a game in which they created so many chances, Slot claimed. But it is not impossible with a defence in this form, as Crystal Palace, Chelsea and now United have proven.
"As he presided over a fourth successive defeat as Liverpool head coach, the first man to do so since Brendan Rodgers in November 2014, Slot must have despaired at a defensive performance that invited United to take the initiative as well as their first victory at Anfield since January 2016.
"Littered with the same mistakes that Liverpool's coaching staff had worked on eradicating after the international break, including another set-piece goal, it was a display that completely derailed the champions' second half recovery and cost them the game."
The Telegraph - Chris Bascombe
"Liverpool's new version of 'heavy metal football' is currently more Spinal Tap than AC/DC," wrote Bascombe.
"Chaotic and occasionally comical, a fourth consecutive defeat maintained the theme of Arne Slot's season. Much more of this and the panic level in Liverpool's title defence will be dialled up to 11.
"Slot came into this campaign seeking to create a side worthy of comparison with European champions Paris St-Germain. The sobering reality is they have looked more like Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur in the opening weeks of their title defence; great to watch and full of attacking intent, but defensively flawed and taking so many risks they might need gamblers anonymous on speed dial.
"Roy Evans, the former Liverpool manager, once had a name for these crazy matches. 'Kamikaze football,' he called it after the infamous 4-3 win over Newcastle United in 1996 had the viewers purring. It is not sustainable for a team trying to win the biggest honours to be consoled by the number of chances being created when so many goals are being conceded.
"For all the potential of a group of highly talented attacking players clicking at some point during this season, Liverpool still look as balanced as an inebriated trapeze artist.
"Neutrals must have been intoxicated by the spectacle of another end-to-end climax. Liverpool's recent opponents certainly are, and Arsenal and Manchester City will be even more ecstatic. They are seeing the champions continuously engineer their own downfall, surrendering last year's cruise control for this season's perpetual jeopardy."
The Times - Paul Joyce
"Slot had outlined a lengthy series of demands in the build-up which betrayed his true feelings about how his side had been performing," wrote Joyce.
"He wanted an improvement defensively, more productivity from set-pieces and the sort of 'special moments' that had underpinned their march to the title in the first half of last season. Dress it up however you want, but that was a call to arms to both Isak and Salah to pull their fingers out.
"Liverpool's front six became a Fantasy Football dream, but raised questions in doing so such as: what exactly is the plan with Wirtz? He will probably start against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday but then so, too, with Ekitike given it is the latter's former club.
"When will the Wirtz-Isak understanding take off without minutes together? It is now just 221 minutes this season."
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