Liverpool

Aadam Patel
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Where do you start with Liverpool? This is a side that is fragile and carved open at ease and they were ripped apart here.

"They are very poor in possession and very poor out of possession," said Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports pre-match. That summed it up.

Bar the spark of 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha and Virgil van Dijk from set-pieces, Liverpool struggled attackingly.

Fundamental to next season will be the ability to get the best out of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak because right now, Liverpool are not feared.

Defensively, their season goes from bad to worse. Arne Slot's men have conceded more than 50 goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign for the first time (52).

And that is now one draw and seven defeats in eight away games against teams in the Premier League top nine this season. One point in those games is a shocking return for any team, never mind a side trying to defend a Premier League title.

Champions League football should still be secured but Liverpool are making seriously hard work out of it, with just one point in their last three games.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot speaking to BBC MOTD: "After 2-1 it went away from us. Before that I think we started well in the first 10 minutes of the second half then we had control of the game without creating chances - but that is not the first time this season.

"At 1-1 we were close to going 2-1 and then conceding the goal at 2-1 the way we conceded the goal is something we haven't had this season yet. We have conceded a lot of goals this season which you'd find hard to believe unless you live it and that's what we did today. Villa were the better team after that and the game went away from us.

"It's not about me or how frustrated I am it's frustrating for everyone involved - players, staff and definitely fans. Frustrating for players who came back and in football you can slip [Dominik Szoboszlai], but it's so unfortunate. That is something that's probably part of our season. We know what to do next week."

Why has away form been so poor?: "In general teams struggle more away from home but for a top team like us it's far too many losses and dropped points. That hugely has to do with the way we concede is far too easy in general.

"We have chances but we've not been as clinical in fishing them this season as we were last season. It doesn't help that [Alexander] Isak has hardly played for us or that Hugo [Ekitike] has been unavailable. It is what it is. Next week, Brentford is where our focus is."

On his position as manager?: "It's not about me it's about us being disappointed with the result. I spoke yesterday on it and that's enough. Our focus is on the Brentford game and making sure we earn the support of the fans by starting the game aggressive and well.

"The culmination of the fan support and a good performance will lead us to what we want to achieve and that is qualifying for the Champions League."

Did you know?

• Liverpool have conceded four goals in a Premier League game for the first time since a 4-4 draw with Southampton in their final match of the 2022-23 season – the Reds have also leaked more than 50 goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign for the first time (52).

• Liverpool lost their 19th game of the season across all competitions; since they were last promoted to the top-flight in 1962, only in 1992-93 (20) have the Reds suffered more defeats in a campaign (also 19 in 2004-05 and 2009-10).

• Virgil van Dijk has now scored more headed goals for Liverpool in the Premier League than any other player (22), netting twice in a league game tonight for the first time since November 2019 versus Brighton.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Villa's performance

What did you make of Liverpool's display?

Come back on Saturday for a selection of your replies - more reaction and analysis coming soon

Unai Emery makes three changes from Aston Villa's draw at Burnley and despite having a Europa League final to look forward to on Wednesday, it's a fairly strong Villa side.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne; Tielemans, Lindelof; McGinn, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins.

Subs: Bizot, Barkley, Garcia, Abraham, Sancho, Luiz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey.

For Liverpool, there's just the one change with Joe Gomez coming in for Jeremie Frimpong. Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz are back on the bench but there's no Alexander Isak again.

Liverpool XI: Mamardashvili; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Gakpo.

Subs: Woodman, Wirtz, Salah, Chiesa, Robertson, Nyoni, McConnell, Ndiaye, Wright.

Aston Villa have got the Europa League final against Freiburg on Wednesday so what will Unai Emery do here?

The last time Villa had a big European game coming up, against Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals earlier this month, Emery made seven changes against Tottenham and his team were awful.

This time? Villa need to build a bit of momentum before they head to Istanbul, so he cannot do the same again - if he does, they will lose momentum, not build it.

Liverpool are hardly flying at the moment either, though, and like Villa they are not guaranteed a top-five finish yet.

A draw feels like the most likely outcome but making predictions at this stage of the season is almost impossible because of the different things that can skew the results. If it was down to me the predictions from the last two weeks of the season would not count towards the table.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa host Liverpool with a win for either side enough to secure Champions League qualification. BBC Sport explores some further themes around this fixture.

Villa's stuttering end to the domestic season will be largely inconsequential if they can end the 2025-26 campaign with a first major European trophy in 44 years.

Villa have taken eight points from the past 27 available, dating back to a 2-0 loss at Wolves on 27 February when they sat third in the table. Only relegated Burnley and Chelsea have amassed fewer points over that period.

Villa's primary focus is Europe

Victory in the Europa League final on Wednesday would guarantee a place in next season's Champions League and render Villa's final league position almost irrelevant.

Villa will start as favourites against German outfit Freiburg next week and in Unai Emery they possess a manager who excels in that competition. The Spaniard has won four Europa League titles – a record for a manager - although it is worth noting that his only defeat in this final came while in charge of an English side.

Friday's Premier League match does still hold some significance and a win would secure Villa's place in the top five with a game to spare. They have not lost a final league match at Villa Park since their Premier League return in 2019 (W4, D2), a run which includes an entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool two years ago.

Liverpool seek to end season on a high

It would be fair to say that Liverpool's title defence has not gone exactly to plan. The Reds head into this weekend 20 points behind league leaders Arsenal and have amassed 24 fewer points than at this stage last season after suffering 11 defeats.

To put that into context, they lost only four times last season and two of those came in May after the title was already in the bag.

Eight of this season's 11 losses have come on the road – their most away defeats in a top-flight campaign for 14 years – and they have collected just one point from seven trips to face teams currently in the Premier League top nine. Aston Villa are fifth.

"We have dropped far too many points in away games," admitted head coach Arne Slot, who was subjected to boos during last Saturday's draw with Chelsea at Anfield. "But I have every reason to believe I am the Liverpool manager next season."

The 2024-25 Premier League champions will end the campaign without a major trophy for only the third time in the past eight years, but victory at Villa Park would at least confirm Champions League football for next season.

Liverpool hold the upper hand in games against Friday's opponent and have lost only one of their previous 16 Premier League meetings with Villa, winning 12 and drawing three. That sole defeat was a 7-2 thrashing at Villa Park in October 2020 which remains the club's record Premier League defeat.

Another reverse this Friday, by any margin, would see Slot's future called further into question.

Alex Bysouth
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

There's something magical about those seconds before the FA Cup final kicks off. Trumpets and tin-foil trophies, players as tense as the travelling fans, gaffers pacing the dugout in full club suits. The anticipation of a new hero emerging.

Some goals, though, are written in FA Cup folklore, rolled out for every cup final montage - they're the belters, the moments of individual magic, the strikes that sealed shock wins.

I've chosen 10 that make an all-time list and here are a couple of them. See where they ranked by accessing the full article below these extracts.

Michael Owen - Liverpool v Arsenal 2001

A young Michael Owen was electrifying. By the 2001 FA Cup final some of his early hamstring problems had already begun, but this was a 21-year-old on his way to winning the Ballon d'Or.

Even then, the diminutive forward looked like a schoolkid thrust into an adult's game and forced to wear a shirt several sizes too big.

Liverpool trailed Arsenal 1-0 in the Cardiff sunshine when Owen levelled with a smartly taken half-volley in the 83rd minute. His winner five minutes later, though, was straight out of the Chester-born striker's playbook.

With Liverpool under pressure, Patrik Berger looped a clearance into the channel. Owen gave Lee Dixon a head start but scorched across the turf to get there before him.

His first touch took the ball away from the covering Tony Adams, his second fired a left-footed shot a fraction inside David Seaman's far post.

"If I could have one day back, I would rewind to that day," Owen later said.

Steven Gerrard - Liverpool v West Ham 2006

This is like that Top of the Pops moment where you're waiting to find out who's number one. There'll be groans from Merseyside as Steven Gerrard's name is read out, cheers in north London as they know what's coming up.

Gerrard was renowned for his belters, but he's arguably never hit one as sweet as this.

Hobbling around with cramp as Liverpool trailed West Ham 3-2 in added time, lactic acid coursing through his thighs, the midfielder swung a right boot at a bobbling ball 40 yards out and it fizzed just above the turf until hitting the back of Shaka Hislop's net.

"I saw him coming on to it but there were a lot of players between him and me, and he hit it so well it was in the back of the net almost before I could react," Hislop told 5 Live.

Liverpool went on to win on penalties, Gerrard also netting from the spot.

"When that went in I felt like the most special and important player in the world," he said about his wonder strike.

See my 10 selections in full

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Friday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Villa Park (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Ibrahima Konate is available, while Mohamed Salah has trained with the squad and "will be available for a few minutes" against Villa.

• Florian Wirtz has had a stomach infection and is on antibiotics so Slot does not yet know whether he will recover in time.

• Goalkeeper Alisson will be assessed on Friday to see "whether he is ready, or has to wait one more week" to return.

• On Alisson's future and fans wanting clarity on whether to give him a "big send-off": "Our fans need to support Alisson, no matter if it is his last game or if it was his first game - that is what they have always done. If he is in goal tomorrow or next week, our fans will support him. The same goes for next season."

• Slot said Liverpool have "dropped far too many points in away games" this campaign and that's "one of the reasons" why they have not yet qualified for the Champions League.

• On why he thinks their away form has been poor: "It has mainly happened while playing in Europe and in games Liverpool are usually able to win. The first challenge is to be fitter and more ready to play after Europe and I think we have progressed in that."

• He added they have "many times" been "in a good place after 70, 80 minutes, but dropped points in the last phase of the game," so that needs to improve next season.

• In response to whether he will be head coach of the Reds next term: "I don't think I am deciding that alone, but I have every reason to believe I'm the Liverpool manager next season."

• On long-term plans: "We know where we go on tour. Plans have been made and talks have been ongoing between the club and new players, and I am involved in that."

• He said he has "the most respect" for his players because they have had a "difficult season, physically and mentally" but have "have been constantly available."

Hit play above to hear more from Slot or listen here on BBC Sounds

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Liverpool? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Gary McAllister played for Liverpool 87 times, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was at least triple that.

The affection that is held for him by supporters of the club runs deep, with the dynamic Scottish midfielder regarded as one of the most shrewd signings in the club's history, helping them win a Treble in 2001.

McAllister is featured in BBC Scotland's Icons of Football series, taking an in-depth look at his storied career for club and country.

When McAllister arrived at Anfield, aged 35, there were some eyebrows raised in and around the club, particularly by a young Steven Gerrard.

"It wasn't really in the news, it wasn't a big story, and he wasn't considered a big target at the time," the Reds legend tells BBC Scotland.

"It was when Gary walked in the door [that I found out].

"And obviously, someone in my position as well, I was a bit like, 'Oh, hang on a minute, what's going on here?'

"I didn't know how to take it.

"When he arrived, I thought he was a threat for my position, because I knew he was a top player, but from day one, from the first conversation we connected, he had time for me. Went out of his way to help me."

Over the next couple of years, McAllister would act as an extension of Gerard Houllier's coaching staff on the pitch, as Gerrard puts it, and guided a squad of raw players such as Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, and Danny Murphy to multiple trophies.

"We were a gang of toe-rags, shall we say," Gerrard adds.

"He brought calmness to the dressing room, big-game knowledge, a lot of wisdom.

"Gary was vital for me, he certainly helped me both on and off the pitch become a better professional, a better person.

"It was like having a coach sitting next to you in the dressing room all the time.

"He was the fittest, probably the oldest, but still the fittest. He could run for days and days.

"All the way through pre-season he was at the front of the group."

McAllister's fitness, something he was schooled in at Leeds by the likes of Gordon Strachan, led to his career at the top level lasting well past his contemporaries, an honest admission that Gerrard makes.

"He was still in his prime well into his thirties, which is the biggest compliment I can pay him because when I was that age, I was very much done," he says.

"I was ready for a different level of football, I went to the MLS.

"Gary McAllister was still producing consistently in the Premier League, so his longevity certainly outlasted mine from that point of view."

WATCH: Icons of Football: Gary McAllister on iPlayer

Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, who will reportedly cost £80m, has been linked to Chelsea and Liverpool but the 19-year-old is in no rush to leave RB Leipzig. (The Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group face a familiar dilemma. As the reigning Premier League champions continue to suffer an alarming decline, and fan discontent rises, FSG must decide what to do about head coach Arne Slot.

Slot has lost the faith of many supporters, with former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy telling BBC Sport it is a conundrum he feels will end with the Dutchman's departure within months.

There are currently no indications that FSG are planning to part with Slot, but the voices of Liverpool supporters are rising in volume against him. Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea was played out in an atmosphere of toxicity rarely heard at Anfield.

Now former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso is the name on the lips of The Kop.

Murphy believes Slot's departure is now purely a case of when rather than if, given the increasing revolt in the stands.

He told BBC Sport: "Slot has won a title, which Brendan didn't do, so on the surface it would make more sense to stick with him, and I do feel strongly it is unfair to say he only won the title with Klopp's team. That's just not right.

"The problem Slot has got, especially at one of the biggest clubs in the world, is that when the fanbase turns, you are really, really struggling to get them back unless you win every game, then not just win, but win in a style Liverpool fans expect and demand.

"This season you have seen Liverpool being dictated to by the way other teams play at Anfield. Fair enough, it's different away from Anfield, but at home you expect Liverpool to be going after you, not giving you time to breathe. Too often it's not been like that."

Murphy also feels FSG run the risk of falling behind should they follow the Brendan Rodgers template from 2015 and keep Slot in place.

He said: "What you're doing then is taking the huge risk of banking on starting next season amazingly well, with everything going brilliantly.

"I think that's unlikely, especially with the changes that are going to happen, so you're then behind 'the eight ball' because you might have to take a decision when everyone else is kicking on.

"I think we are looking at an inevitable departure whether it is now or a few months into the season."

• Read Phil's full piece on Slot's position

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool fan Joel Richards speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside about whether Xabi Alonso's links with Chelsea would prove a missed opportunity for the Reds, should he take the role: "I don't think I'm in full meltdown mode like a lot of Liverpool fans are. But that said, if it happens, if Alonso goes to Chelsea, it's going to feel like a missed opportunity, isn't it?

"If FSG decide to stick with [Arne] Slot, and then if, as we're all fearing, Slot starts next season, but he starts terribly - a la Brendan Rodgers back in 2015 - the only difference this time would be that there's no Jurgen Klopp waiting in the wings to take over, or a manager of his ilk or his calibre to replace Slot.

"So that is the big fear that if Liverpool don't make the change this summer, then is it going to be a very massive mistake on FSG's behalf."

BBC Radio Merseyside's Paul Salt wonders if Alonso knows Liverpool are sticking with Slot and is therefore more tempted by Chelsea than some fans expected.

Salt explained: "There have been no murmurings about him going. That's the thing for me. My instinct is that they are standing by him. That is my instinct.

"I think at the moment he will be there at the start of next season. Now, things can change. Things can change between now and the end of the season. If somehow Liverpool manage to mess up getting in the Champions League, I think he's a goner.

"They are not going to brief journalists going, 'Yeah, he's gone at the end of the season'. They're not going to brief journalists and say that, but you'd get an undertone of it, and there doesn't appear to be any kind of even movement in that direction."

Hit play below to listen to the full 14-minute chat or get more on BBC Sounds here

Image source, BBC Sport

Gary McAllister made the game of football look easy. The proverbial classy midfield player who saw the full picture, and could affect it, in the crucial seconds before his opponent.

Unprepared to succumb to a story that began with knock-backs, McAllister wrote his own place in the history and folklore of every club he played for - a winner at Motherwell, champion at Leeds, immortal at Liverpool, and a Scotland captain of some repute.

There were lows to counter the highs, and McAllister discusses these with searing honesty on the latest episode if Icons of Football.

With contributions from Steven Gerrard, Gordon Strachan and Ardal O'Hanlon, this is the story of one of the greatest Scotland players of his, or any, generation.

Watch Icons of Football: Gary McAllister on BBC iPlayer.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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Benjamin Sesko's goal for Manchester United against Liverpool was allowed to stand because there was no definitive proof of handball, according to referees' chief Howard Webb.

Sesko scored United's second goal in a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford on 3 May.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot voiced his frustration that the video assistant referee did not intervene to disallow the 14th minute goal.

The Slovenia international had bundled the ball home from close range, and it looked like his fingertips may have brushed it before it went in.

"I think it probably does hit the hand," Webb said on Match Officials Mic'd Up.

"But of course, the VARs need [to see] that conclusively. They need to be absolutely certain that it does.

"Clearly, Sesko doesn't deliberately handle this. He doesn't make himself bigger. It's all very natural.

"But, of course, the laws of the game require any goal that comes off the hand immediately to be disallowed.

"That means the VAR has no option but to start looking for that.

"Sometimes it looks like they're being a bit too forensic, and you hear, in this situation, the VAR looking from various angles.

"They want to get it right.

"They need to be absolutely categorical to get involved, and they weren't able to find [the evidence], and hence the reason that the on-field decision stood."

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport has been reflecting on the forthcoming Netflix documentary which details Liverpool's unlikely comeback in the 2005 Champions League final.

The key figures from the time feature, with ex-defender Jamie Carragher detailing the role of manager Rafa Benitez.

As he reflects on Benitez's time in charge, Carragher says the manager's training methods were "a bit weird".

"There's no ball and there'd just be cones all around the pitch," says the former England defender, 48.

"Rafa would say, 'right the ball's at cone A, the ball's at cone D, the ball's at cone F' and then we'd all have to run to where we should be."

• Read more on the documentary

Benitez acknowledges he likes to go into detail in his coaching.

"I like to analyse things," he says. "Just one centimetre higher or lower - that is the difference between success sometimes and defeat."

And that attention to detail paid off during the penalty shootout in Istanbul.

Jerzy Dudek says Benitez had kept extensive notes on where Milan's players liked to put their spot-kicks.

"We had a code," says the former Poland goalkeeper. "The goal was divided into six squares. He shared this information: 'Andriy Shevchenko likes one and four.'"

Dudek saved two penalties, including the decisive one from Shevchenko.

Read more here

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Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha received the Home Grown Debutant of the Season accolade on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old won the award on a joint-basis alongside Arsenal midfielder Max Dowman at the Premier League Youth Development Conference.

Ngumoha was also one of 27 players to pick up a Scholar of the Year prize.

Meanwhile, Liverpool's assistant Academy director Nick Marshall received the Eamonn Dolan Award; which recognises individuals who are role models and innovative in their work within an academy environment.

Image source, Getty Images

Football Journalist David Lynch says Liverpool have been "consistent" in their messaging that they are backing Arne Slot to stay in charge next season.

Asked if he is hearing the club are still backing Slot to stay, he said: "Absolutely and I think they have been consistent in that really.

"No matter how bad it has got at times this season they have wanted to back him and stick by him. The feeling around Liverpool and the hierarchy is that he was handed a tough hand this season.

"This could be a public stance and the cogs could be moving in the background but with Liverpool you would be expecting to hear some noise or see some indication that they are genuinely moving for an alternative at the end of the season and I just don't think we've seen that.

"We are not hearing anything around potential alternatives to Arne Slot come the end of the season."

Listen to the full chat below or on BBC Sounds

Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann has outlined his idea to improve how corners are officiated in future.

In the aftermath of weekend controversy over players grappling in the penalty area, he has told BBC Sport a rule whereby attacking players cannot enter the six-yard box until a corner has been taken would be his preference.

Ex-Premier League defender Nedum Onuoha backed the idea and thinks it will add "creativity" to corner kicks and the move would force "people to think in a different way".

You can watch a clip of the debate above, with Onuoha stating: "Twenty players standing in the six-yard box, you have to ask yourself, is that what you want to see? And is that the best version of the game?"

• Listen to the show in full on BBC Sounds

• Watch the show in full on iPlayer