After Liverpool announced Arne Slot’s departure, we take a look back at the Dutchman’s short tenure, which was marked by incredible highs and devastating lows.
The Beginning of a New Era
On 1 June 2024, Liverpool announced that Arne Slot would succeed Jürgen Klopp as their head coach. A month later, he looked very happy to be at Liverpool’s Kirby training centre, signaling the start of a new chapter for the club.
Early Success on the Pitch
Diogo Jota scored the first goal of Slot’s Liverpool reign, opening the scoring in a 2-0 Premier League win at Ipswich Town. Liverpool fans appeared pleased with the appointment during Slot’s first game at Anfield. For Slot’s third game in charge, Liverpool visited traditional rivals Manchester United, where goals from Luis Díaz, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah gave the visitors a 3-0 victory. Slot thus became the second Liverpool manager to win in his first match at Old Trafford.
Slot’s first defeat came in the next match when Nottingham Forest won 1-0 at Anfield. It was the only 2024/25 Premier League match in which Liverpool failed to score. However, Slot quickly bounced back, becoming the first Premier League manager to win his first six away games, the fastest Premier League manager to reach 15 wins in all competitions, and the first Liverpool manager to win 11 out of 12 matches to begin a season.
Historic Achievements
In November, Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 2-0 in the Champions League, ending a 15-year winless run against the defending European champions. Slot also won the Premier League manager of the month award for November. In March 2025, Slot reached his first final with Liverpool, where his team faced Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. But they left Wembley having been defeated 2-1.
Spirits were high at Anfield in April, with Liverpool supporters sporting Arne Slot flags before the match against Tottenham. A 5-1 victory against Spurs clinched the league title, Liverpool’s first since 2019–20, equalling Manchester United’s record of 20 top-flight titles. Slot became the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League.
Tragedy and Turmoil
Tragedy struck in the summer when Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash near Zamora, Spain. Jota’s death had a profound impact on everyone at the club. Liverpool’s summer spending of £446m brought a host of major signings, including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, and Giovanni Leoni. But those expensive acquisitions failed to hit form or were hampered by injury.
The champions’ title defence began well, winning their first six games, including a 2-1 Merseyside derby victory when Hugo Ekitike scored Liverpool’s winner. However, Liverpool lost seven of their next eight games, conceding 15 goals. Domestic cups provided some respite, with Liverpool making it to the quarter-finals in the FA Cup before losing 4-0 to Manchester City. In the Carabao Cup, Liverpool were knocked out in the fourth round by Crystal Palace, losing 3-0 at Anfield.
European Exit and Dressing Room Rifts
Liverpool reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League before losing to the defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, 4-0 on aggregate. It wasn’t only Liverpool’s form that slumped: Slot’s relationship with Mohamed Salah also suffered. Salah’s infamous “thrown under the bus” outburst at Elland Road, after he was left on the bench at Leeds United in December, didn’t go down well with Slot. In April, after a 4-2 loss at Aston Villa, there was some stinging criticism from Salah that damaged his manager.
The End of the Road
Slot’s lacklustre second season ended with a 1–1 draw at home to Brentford. Less than a week later, he was sacked, bringing an end to a tenure that promised so much but ultimately unraveled in dramatic fashion.
