Aston Villa secure Champions League spot in win over Liverpool
They voted with their feet again. Just like Anfield had emptied out last Saturday before full-time against Chelsea, plenty inside the away end at Villa Park had seen enough and were out long before referee Chris Kavanagh put Liverpool out of their misery.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool's player of the season, apologised to the remaining travelling supporters after his mistake and now there is only one game to go before Liverpool can put an end to a forgettable campaign.
Manager Arne Slot spoke before the game about having nine players missing but that is no excuse for yet another feeble performance from his team.
As Jamie Carragher said pre-match on Sky Sports: "They [Liverpool] are very poor in possession and very poor out of possession."
Slot says Liverpool only need a little bit of transition this summer and that he has every reason to believe he will be the manager next season, but his side are a mess.
This 4-2 defeat against Aston Villa was their 19th defeat of the season across all competitions. Their record away from home against the rest of the top nine is played eight, lost seven, drawn one.
"I can understand at this moment in time they [the fans] don't have confidence or a lot of feeling that things can be much better next season but I think they are underestimating what a transfer window can do, what a new start can do," Slot said after.
Regardless of the injury crisis, Liverpool have had a full week to prepare for each of their past three games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Villa and still delivered three poor performances.
Arne Slot post-match interview - Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool
At Old Trafford, United gifted them a way back into the game which Liverpool still lost and, against Chelsea, Slot's men failed to beat a side that had lost their previous six Premier League matches.
In Birmingham on Friday night, their only real threat all evening came from 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha. Credit to the teenager for being one of the rare sparks of joy this season but Liverpool needed senior players to step up.
In midfield and defence, Liverpool have been poor, conceding more than 50 goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign for the first time (52). Excluding penalties, they have conceded the most goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season (20).
"We've conceded far too many goals - but I think we've also scored not enough goals," Slot told Sky Sports. "We were fully in the game, fully able maybe to get a result but I agree that after it went 2-1 we crumbled."
"They're disjointed at the back and I feel like there's a lot of space for me to run into. I'm going to get chances against them," said Ollie Watkins, who took two of those chances during a chaotic second half.
With one point in the past three games for Liverpool, the chance is still there for Bournemouth or Brighton to capitalise and take the last Champions League spot.
It is entirely Liverpool's own doing that they could host Brentford at Anfield next weekend, where Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson will bid farewell, with it all still to play for. Either way, it is hard to see how Slot wins back the fanbase from here.
"There are mitigating circumstances from before the season," former Reds midfielder Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
"You can't address problems when his best players aren't fit - but a lot of this is on him [Slot] and if they don't get Champions League football he is going to be under pressure and there will be question marks.
"They're an educated fanbase, they don't really turn on their managers - but you see it, you hear it, a lot of people are maybe going away from wanting him as the manager next year.
"I really struggle with that because when you've won the league the year before and decide you want to get rid of the manager the following year - that doesn't sit well with me. I think he deserves another year after winning the Premier League title. But I expect better next year."
Bournemouth and Brighton could still overtake Liverpool in the race for the Champions League, with both sides yet to play their penultimate games.
Brighton, who are six points behind Liverpool and level on goal difference, travel to Leeds on Sunday (15:00 BST) while Bournemouth, who trail Liverpool by four points, host Manchester City on Tuesday (20:00 BST)
A win for either of those sides would take the race for Champions League qualification into the final day of the campaign, when Liverpool host Brentford, Brighton welcome Manchester United and Bournemouth travel to Nottingham Forest.
Anything less than three points for Brighton at Leeds would see Fabian Hurzeler's side drop out of contention, while Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth need at least a point against Manchester City to stay in the hunt.
And, if both Bournemouth and Brighton win, then Liverpool will head into the final day of the season one point ahead of Bournemouth and three points ahead of Brighton.
But if both Bournemouth and Brighton lose their next games, then Liverpool will secure Champions League football before the final game of the season.
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