Arne Slot's five nightmare moments as Liverpool future in doubt after 'lower league' jibe

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Liverpool's season is meandering to an underwhelming conclusion and Arne Slot is now praying his side can hold onto fifth spot - which could be the difference between him keeping his job or not.

The Reds came into the season off the back of a champion year and more than £400million worth of new talent arriving - leading to heightened expectations. But those ambitions were soon quashed by Christmas and Slot has had to firmly rejig his goals for the season.

Liverpool face the genuine prospect of missing out on the Champions League and all its riches. That is likely to be the biggest determining factor in the Dutchman remaining at Anfield or not, but the manner of their loss to PSG underlines the gulf between them and Europe's best right now.

The demise at Anfield has been alarming, especially given how Liverpool won their opening five games to set an ominous tone for the rest of the Premier League .

They've fallen from those heights and are more than twenty points off top spot whilst cup opportunities have passed them by. A Champions League miracle now requires exactly that, a miracle, after they were beaten in Paris on Wednesday night.

Slot has gone from the man with all the answers to a man desperately trying everything, including playing back fives, to find solutions. With his Anfield job firmly under the microscope we look at the five moments he - and the Liverpool hierarchy - won't look back on fondly this year.

Not since 2016 had arch rivals Manchester United managed to secure a win at Anfield. In that time there had been some maulings, more recently a 7-0 hammering. Prior to that there had been a 4-0 victory. It was very much one way traffic when the Red Devils came to Merseyside. So when an underperforming United team came to town little was expected. Bryan Mbeumo ignited a shock in the opening minute, and then Harry Maguire headed home a late winner to silence the Anfield crowd.

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During a dire run there's always a result or two that really hammers home the point that this really is bordering on a crisis. The Reds had lost successive games 3-0, but if PSV were to secure a win at Liverpool in would surely be by a small margin. Think again - the Dutch side secured an emphatic win as Slot was dealt a ninth loss in 12 matches with their season very much unravelling before his eyes.

Bound for the Championship and rooted to the bottom of the table, Wolves still picked up a third win of the season as they left Liverpool again looking for answers and questioning why they couldn't address familiar flaws. Andre scored in the 94th minute for Wolves - the fifth stoppage time goal conceded by the Reds this season. It was yet another example of Liverpool finding it difficult to score from open play against a team who sat deep, something Slot himself has acknowledged all year.

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Twice this season Liverpool have travelled to the blue side of Manchester and they've left with an aggregate loss of 7-0. The most recent of those being a 4-0 reverse in the FA Cup , where Virgil van Dijk claimed they had given up, and earlier this season City eased to a 3-0 victory. Both performances served to highlight the stark drop off from Liverpool, who were being taught a lesson by a side who they had dominated only last season.

The latest example of how far Liverpool have fallen behind the elite. Jamie Carragher claimed it was "like watching a team from a lower division. The gulf in class was very worrying". The Reds were lucky to leave Paris having only lost by two, and whilst that gives them a chance back at Anfield, few who watched the game at the Parc des Princes will envisage any scenario where Liverpool topple the European champions.