Liverpool's title defense has been the most underwhelming start in Premier League history. They are now 12 points behind Manchester City, who won the league with a massive 18-point gap last season. The team that holds this dubious record is Leicester City from the 2016-17 season.
Just six months ago, Liverpool's new manager Arne Slot was hailed as a hero after winning the title in his first season. He took over after Jürgen Klopp left Anfield and became one of only three managers to achieve this feat.
However, the Reds' latest £450m summer shopping spree has backfired spectacularly. The team had high expectations but have lost six of their first 12 games, a record that only Liverpool and Leicester City from the previous season share.
This transformation is stark - in just six months, they went from being champions to a struggling side with a negative goal difference. Their new signings are not performing as expected. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz cost £241m together but neither has scored a single league goal so far.
The team's collapse started with the record-breaking summer spending spree. They were expected to break records this season, not become just the third Premier League champions to lose six of their first 12 games.
This collapse is nothing new - nine out of the last 15 champions have suffered a similar drop in points from the previous season. The exception was Manchester City, who won the league five times in the past six seasons.
Their poor start can be compared to Chelsea's disastrous title defense under José Mourinho in the 2015-16 season. Despite winning their third Premier League crown that season with 87 points, they lost nine of their first 16 league matches and finished 37 points worse off than the previous campaign.
Liverpool are now flirting with a similar fate unless something changes quickly.
Just six months ago, Liverpool's new manager Arne Slot was hailed as a hero after winning the title in his first season. He took over after Jürgen Klopp left Anfield and became one of only three managers to achieve this feat.
However, the Reds' latest £450m summer shopping spree has backfired spectacularly. The team had high expectations but have lost six of their first 12 games, a record that only Liverpool and Leicester City from the previous season share.
This transformation is stark - in just six months, they went from being champions to a struggling side with a negative goal difference. Their new signings are not performing as expected. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz cost £241m together but neither has scored a single league goal so far.
The team's collapse started with the record-breaking summer spending spree. They were expected to break records this season, not become just the third Premier League champions to lose six of their first 12 games.
This collapse is nothing new - nine out of the last 15 champions have suffered a similar drop in points from the previous season. The exception was Manchester City, who won the league five times in the past six seasons.
Their poor start can be compared to Chelsea's disastrous title defense under José Mourinho in the 2015-16 season. Despite winning their third Premier League crown that season with 87 points, they lost nine of their first 16 league matches and finished 37 points worse off than the previous campaign.
Liverpool are now flirting with a similar fate unless something changes quickly.
liverpool was supposed to be on fire but instead they're getting absolutely thrashed 
arne slot's summer shopping spree was supposed to be genius but it's like he took all the money and threw it out the window 
six months ago they were the champs and now they're just trying to survive 
anyone else see this coming? 
nine out of 15 champions have done something similar before so i guess you could say it's not that surprising 
they're gonna have to step up their game if they wanna turn this around or else man city is gonna run away with it again 
at Liverpool's start to the season, £450m spending spree didn't quite pay off 
. They're 12 points behind City and six losses in their first 12 games is crazy 
. Six months ago they were champs 
and now they're struggling 
.
. Leicester City did this in 2016-17 and I don't see them doing the same 
. They need to sort out their signings ASAP 
or risk falling behind 
... i mean, 450m summer spree is crazy expensive & seems like it didnt pay off... alexander isak & florian wirtz r supposed to be the saviors but so far, not even a single goal between 'em 
. it's not just the players, but the whole system that's failing them. arne slot was supposed to be some sort of hero manager, but so far he's just been like "i'm lost" 
️
. We all know that money can't buy everything, especially consistency and chemistry between players 
. I'm not surprised to see them in this position, though - history shows us that many champions don't always repeat their success 
.
! I mean, who expects £450m to be splashed around in just six months and it all goes up in smoke 
.
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. Maybe this is just the natural course of things after a long winning streak?
. And what's going on with Alexander Isak? I mean, I know he's not been scoring for Sweden, but £241m is a huge chunk of change for one player... I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Arne Slot can turn things around 
. If they're losing six of their first 12 games, that's a clear sign of underlying issues within the squad. It's time for Slot to shake things up and get his team back on track. The fans are right to be worried 
, but who would've thought they'd take it to this extreme? 12 points behind City is huge - it's like they're playing catch-up from day one 
. And those signings just aren't panning out 
. And now Liverpool are at risk of following suit, which would be a major shame 
.
. And let's be real, £450m is a pretty steep price tag - maybe they were trying too hard to keep the momentum going instead of focusing on the long game 
!