Liverpool's hopes of retaining the Premier League crown have been dealt a brutal reality check by one of their own icons, with Robbie Fowler declaring the title race already over for his former club.
Fowler's Frank Assessment
The stark verdict comes after a difficult start to the campaign under manager Arne Slot, which saw Liverpool slump to a 3-0 defeat against Manchester City before the international break. This result leaves the Merseyside club languishing in eighth position in the Premier League table.
Fowler did not mince his words during an appearance on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. He explained that while the manager must publicly say the right things, realism dictates that the points gap is likely insurmountable.
"The manager will come out and he'll say all of the right things, and you can't say 'we've given up' cause that looks terrible from an outsider looking in," Fowler stated. "You've got to have a little bit of realism as well, because history tells you there's probably only been two teams that have won the Premier League on the back of six or seven defeats."
Damaging Statistics Stack Up
The numbers from this season make for grim reading for Liverpool supporters. The team has now suffered five league losses from their opening 11 matches, amassing just 18 points.
This poor run means they have already exceeded the total number of defeats from their entire title-winning campaign last season, where they lost only four times. Currently, Slot's side trails leaders Arsenal by eight points, with 27 fixtures still to play.
Fowler emphasised the scale of the challenge, noting, "So if Liverpool are going to win the league now, they've got to win virtually every game. They can't even draw games, they've got to win them. So I think they're out of the title."
Slot's Pragmatic Response
Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged the difficult situation in his post-match comments following the Etihad defeat. When questioned about the number of losses, he admitted, "It feels (like) too many."
Slot confirmed that the immediate focus is not on the title race but on securing consistent results to climb the table. "The last thing I should speak about is the title race, we should focus on getting results after results after results," he said. "We are eighth now... The last thing we should focus on is the title race. We need to improve, that is obvious."
Liverpool's first opportunity to begin this improvement comes on November 22 when they host Nottingham Forest at Anfield. This is followed by a crucial Champions League encounter with PSV Eindhoven and a demanding schedule of three Premier League matches in just one week against West Ham, Sunderland, and Leeds United.
