It was a 12-second spell that summed up Liverpool's season. With the hosts searching for a late winner against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday night, Florian Wirtz lofted a hopeful ball into the visitors' box, only to see it glance off the head of Ibrahima Konaté and sail into the gloves of Robin Roefs.
The Sunderland goalkeeper quickly spotted an opportunity to inflict further damage on the flailing Premier League champions and released Wilson Isidor with a long ball, who charged from inside his own half towards Liverpool's goal. Just when it seemed like the net was destined to bulge, up popped substitute Federico Chiesa to clear Isidor's shot off the line and spare the Reds the ignominy of a 10th defeat in 14 games in all competitions.
But while the Italy international's intervention may have prevented Liverpool's season from plummeting to a desperate new nadir, Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Regis Le Bris's newly promoted side offered few signs that head coach Arne Slot has discovered the antidote to his team's startling malaise.
It was only a few short months ago that the Dutchman was being hailed as the modern-day incarnation of legendary Liverpool boss Bob Paisley, who built a dynasty at Anfield after taking the reins from the talismanic Bill Shankly in the 1970s. In some quarters in recent weeks, Slot has been more commonly likened to Roy Hodgson, whose ill-fated stint as manager lasted just 31 games before he was sacked during the 2010-2011 season.
Of course, such comparisons are preposterous considering Slot's status as a Premier League winner, but it is impossible to ignore the fact that the form book does not make for pleasant reading for the 47-year-old. Having won the title at a canter last season and spent a record-breaking £450 million in the summer transfer market, many had Slot's side earmarked as the overwhelming favorites to top the table again this term.
But, with a third of the campaign now played, Liverpool's bid to retain their crown grows less convincing by the week and Slot -- for the first time in his managerial career -- finds himself under real pressure.
So where has it all gone so wrong for the Dutchman? And where do Liverpool go from here?
PSV defeat a "breaking point moment" for some
Following Liverpool's spectacular collapse to lose 4-1 against PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League last week, the external clamors for Slot to be dismissed became almost deafening.
Still, Slot was typically unflappable when grilled on his future in the ensuing days, insisting that he still retained the support of the Liverpool hierarchy, including sporting director Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports Group (FSG) CEO of Football Michael Edwards.
"We have had the same conversations since I was here," he said in a news conference last Friday. "We fight on, we try to improve -- that's what we all try. But the conversations have been the same as since I was here."
One source has told ESPN that the defeat against PSV was a "breaking-point moment" among some within the club which, although not a loss that confirmed Slot's fate, was a result that raised concerns that had not previously surfaced during the poor results and performances going into that game.
That said, the fact remains that Liverpool are not a sacking club and there is an acknowledgment from those inside the corridors of power that the team's slump does not rest squarely on Slot's shoulders. Even in spite of Liverpool's torrid recent run, the Dutchman's win percentage of 63% is the highest of any manager in the club's history and he remains just the second Reds boss in the Premier League era to win the title.
When the Liverpool hierarchy were in the process of hiring Jurgen Klopp's successor in the spring of 2024, they compiled a 60-page dossier outlining why Slot was the outstanding candidate and presented him with this data at his family home in the Dutch city of Zwolle. That meticulous research proved prophetic when the former Feyenoord boss led Liverpool to top flight glory at the first time of asking last term but, after winning just four of his last 14 games, Slot appears to have lost the Midas touch.
Wednesday night's draw with Sunderland means Liverpool have failed to win three successive games at Anfield for the first time since March 2021, when they were winless for a sequence of eight matches during the COVID-19 pandemic. That the Reds' current dismal run does not come with the caveat of no fans in the stands is a concern, though Slot has rejected the idea that Liverpool's famous old stadium has lost its fear factor.
Steve Nicol explains Virgil van Dijk's responsibility on Sunderland's goal as Liverpool rescue a 1-1 draw against The Black Cats.
"No, not Anfield, for sure," he said. "But it's clear that teams that play us now think they can get a result. Not only think, because that has been shown this season. And even in the games we've won, they also fueled the confidence for other teams like, 'Hmm, something is possible' because the wins we had at the beginning of the season weren't easy ones as well."
Indeed, the fact that Liverpool's convincing performances this season have been few and far between should be more of a concern for Slot than the results themselves.
On Wednesday, Slot said he was not surprised by the way Sunderland approached the game and yet his team were rarely able to trouble Roefs in the opposition goal, with just four of their 23 shots hitting the target.
Perhaps the most damning aspect of the evening was Le Bris' postmatch comments, with the Frenchman suggesting his team were taken aback by Liverpool's often passive and ponderous display.
"We were maybe a bit surprised to have controlled the game," he told club media. "So, we told the players to believe and push more because it was possible to score."
With Liverpool's listless performances only serving to embolden the opposition, the champions' aura of infallibility -- and that of their head coach -- has been hugely dented.
Slot not the only one to blame for Liverpool's rotten run
While Liverpool's form has not been good enough this season, it would be disingenuous to suggest that all of the club's woes are down to Slot.
Despite their summer of heavy spending, the Reds' squad lacks the depth and balance of leaders Arsenal, who are now overwhelming favorites to win the title. In defense, the collapsed deadline day move for Crystal Palace center back Marc Guéhi looks more costly by the day, with both Konate and captain Virgil van Dijk having looked way short of their best this term and new signing Giovanni Leoni currently sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Sources told ESPN that Palace chairman Steve Parish initially accepted Liverpool's £35 million ($47.4 million) offer to sign Guehi, with the player having been granted permission to have a medical, before withdrawing from the deal at the 11th hour after being unable to secure a replacement. Had Liverpool moved earlier in the window, though, such an eventuality could have been avoided.
In attack, Liverpool look to be lacking pace and guile out wide, with the decision to sanction the €75 million exit of Luis Díaz -- who has already scored 12 goals for Bayern Munich this season -- now seeming increasingly ill-advised. Sources told ESPN the Reds were initially reluctant to let the Colombia international depart, rebuffing advances from Barcelona early in the transfer window, before eventually accepting Bayern's bid.
One source told ESPN the player had been "determined" to leave Anfield, having previously been open to a new challenge in the summer of 2024. With that in mind, recouping such a significant fee for a player who turns 29 in January made sense from a business perspective, but the decision not to source a like-for-like replacement has undoubtedly hindered Liverpool this season.
The view from inside Anfield was that bringing in another senior left winger could block the pathway of prodigious teenager Rio Ngumoha, who scored the winning goal for Liverpool in their dramatic 3-2 victory over Newcastle United back in August. However, the fact that the 17-year-old has played just 41 Premier League minutes since that match-winning cameo suggests that, understandably, he is not yet ready to be a regular starter at the highest level.
Beth Lindop talks about Arne Slot's position at Liverpool amid the club's run of poor form following their 4-1 defeat to PSV in the Champions League.
Liverpool's struggles out wide would perhaps be less of an issue if striker Alexander Isak had been able to hit the ground running on Merseyside following his acrimonious £125 million move from Newcastle. However, the 26-year-old has paid the price for his decision to go on strike in a bid to force the move and has struggled for both form and fitness at Anfield, scoring just twice in 12 appearances in all competitions.
One source told ESPN that the Sweden international has earned himself comparisons to Fernando Torres, who endured a similarly unconvincing start to his Chelsea career following a £50 million move from Liverpool in 2011. Torres never found his form at Stamford Bridge and proved to be one of the most expensive flops in Premier League history.
Sources familiar with Liverpool's recruitment team have told ESPN that data shows that strikers rarely recover from a bad first season at a new club, although Roberto Firmino's lengthy search for a first goal for Liverpool following his move from Hoffenheim in 2015 -- the Brazilian waited 14 games for his first goal and started with just one goal in his first 25 appearances -- offers proof that some strikers can eventually come good.
Of course, in amongst all of Liverpool's difficulties on the pitch, it must also be noted that Slot is having to steer his team through an unimaginable tragedy following the death of beloved striker Diogo Jota in the summer. The Dutchman has repeatedly made clear that neither he nor his players wish to use the forward's passing as an excuse but, while it is impossible to quantify the impact of Jota's loss, it is not unfair to suggest it has taken a toll on the squad.
Mohamed Salah -- whose decline this term has provided another headache for Slot -- broke down in tears on the pitch following the opening day victory over Bournemouth at Anfield, while defender Andy Robertson was visibly emotional when speaking about Jota's death following Scotland's qualification for the FIFA World Cup last month.
The situation does not absolve Slot or his players of all responsibility for their so far disappointing campaign, but it does offer some mitigation and makes the discourse surrounding the head coach's future all the more uncomfortable.
A week for Slot to save his job?
Ahead of Liverpool's trip to West Ham United on Sunday, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher asserted that Slot had "a week to save his job."
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Carragher said: "Anything fewer than seven points will make an already unacceptable situation untenable."
While club-legend Carragher is of course not the barometer for sentiment inside Anfield, his argument felt like a sound one, with assignments against West Ham, Sunderland and Leeds United offering Liverpool the chance to build some much-needed momentum.
A victory over Leeds on Saturday would see Slot and his team reach that seven-point threshold and would likely be enough to allow some pressure to recede, at least until Tuesday night's tricky Champions League clash with Inter Milan at San Siro.
While Anfield was restless at times on Wednesday night, there was no repeat of the audible dissent which followed the defeat to PSV, when a smattering of boos could be heard around the stadium. It was notable against West Ham that the away supporters sang Slot's name, even before his team established a 2-0 lead over Nuno Espirito Santo's side at the London Stadium.
That show of fealty is likely to be repeated when Liverpool travel to Elland Road on Saturday to face a Leeds team buoyed by their impressive 3-1 victory over title contenders Chelsea. However, if Slot is unable to find the answers his team so desperately need in the coming weeks, even his most ardent supporters may have no choice but to change their tune.
ESPN's Mark Ogden also contributed to this report