Villa qualified even without winning the Europa League as Unai Emery’s men defeated an abysmal Liverpool squad at Villa Park with a comprehensive scoreline of 4–2.
That is 12 defeats in the Premier League for Liverpool, and 20 in total for the season.
An unwanted record, as Slot surpassed Benitez’s tally of 19 defeats in a single season. This is one record that no manager would want on their resume.
Benitez did not face the same wrath from the fans as it was his first season in charge, and he delivered European Cup number five that same year.
Even after Slot won Liverpool’s 20th league title, the goodwill is running out, and the excuses are running thin.
Qualification for the Champions League is still not secured, and the number of Liverpool fans calling for Slot’s head continues to grow.
The drama does not end there. It seems there is a mutiny within the squad, as both Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones took to social media to call out the club’s standards and style of play.
Subtly throwing the manager under the bus, and hoping that such posts would prompt the management to take action to address the situation.
Initially, the management had decided to back Slot for another season, but as the situation grew more toxic, Mike Gordon and co would be better served by reassessing. This situation parallels Manchester United with Erik ten Hag: INEOS gave Ten Hag a contract extension and backed him in the transfer window before eventually sacking him in October.
Based on the current situation, it seems Liverpool are Manchester United Mk. 2, and it could be a long time before the Reds return to their best if they do not address the situation.
Kudos to Emery for fielding a strong squad against Liverpool as a dress rehearsal for the Europa League final.
Every single player performed at their best because they most likely want to retain their place in the starting eleven come Wednesday.
This is a masterclass in management and something that every manager should emulate. Villa definitely deserved the Champions League spot, and it would be enjoyable to have them back on the big stage.
Bruno Fernandes is one assist away from breaking the all-time Premier League assist record.
Fernandes is now levelled with both Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry, but has one more game in which to break it.
Theoretically, Fernandes could have broken the record against Nottingham Forest if his teammates had their shooting boots on – Bryan Mbeumo and Joshua Zirkzee being the chief culprits.
Nevertheless, United recorded an entertaining victory over Forest to give newly appointed Michael Carrick something to cheer about.
A true test awaits as Carrick navigates his first-ever transfer window and plays more than one game per week.
It is too early to judge now, as Carrick had a week to prepare his players, but the management did the right thing in sacking Ruben Amorim.
United cannot go another season without Champions League football, as it would damage the club financially.
Both Arsenal and Manchester City are scheduled to play midweek, as City played the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Antoine Semenyo collected his second medal with City as he scored the winner against Chelsea to keep the club in the running for a domestic treble.
That is, if Burnley can get a result against Arsenal today and City achieve a victory against Bournemouth.
With Liverpool losing, the Cherries might be motivated to close the gap to one point and take the Champions League qualification fight to the final day.
Chelsea took the defeat on the chin and made a big announcement in their managerial position by confirming Xabi Alonso as the next manager of the club.
This announcement definitely hurt some Liverpool fans, as they had marked Alonso as their preferred replacement should Slot get the sack.
FSG’s incompetence is once again on display for all to see.
Where will the club go from here? Right now, BlueCo seems to be getting their act together while FSG resembles a headless chicken.
The final day beckons, and there is still a lot to play for.
Many would like to see the Cherries in the Champions League at Liverpool’s expense, while Arsenal fans would like to win the Premier League and see their rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, relegated.
The fans have one more week until their questions are answered. Until then, everyone just has to wait.
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