Liverpool’s catastrophic start to the new campaign, which sees the reigning Premier League champions languishing in the bottom half of the table after losing six of their last seven league games, has prompted a highly specific attack from former Manchester United star Paul Scholes.
Scholes has pinned the entirety of the Reds’ current crisis not on tactics or poor summer recruitment, but on an off-field decision made by Arne Slot at the tail end of last season.
The former Manchester United midfielder believes the decision to go on a celebratory trip to Ibiza after securing the Premier League title, but while the league season was still technically in progress.
Paul Scholes says Liverpool’s mentality “fell off a cliff” after Ibiza celebrations
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, the famously reserved pundit launched a scathing critique, labelling the Dutchman’s actions as “classless” and “disrespectful,” claiming the party atmosphere marked the exact moment Liverpool’s winning mentality was carelessly discarded.
“I think this started towards the end of last season. Do you remember when they won the league? The bad form started; they went away, went to Ibiza or something.
“Arne Slot was DJing. Honestly, DJing in Ibiza. I think that’s disrespectful that, before the season’s done. I think that’s classless.”
Scholes stressed that while the league trophy was mathematically secured, the decision to jet off showed a profound lack of respect for the competition, the fans, and the professional standards required at an elite club.
“You have to finish the job,” he added. “The fringe players are watching the manager on a set of decks while there are still games to play. What kind of message is that? I think that’s disrespectful; I think it’s classless that, and the form fell off a cliff then and has never recovered.”
Liverpool’s shocking form since winning the Premier League exposed
Scholes’s critique is underpinned by a worrying trend in results that began immediately after the title was confirmed in May.
In the final four matches of the last season, Liverpool failed to secure a single victory, a run that critics argue was the first sign of professional decay.
That slide has continued into the current season. The reigning champions have dropped alarmingly into the bottom half of the table, suffering six defeats in their last seven Premier League outings.
Across all competitions, the statistics are even more damning: the team has lost eight of their last 11 matches.
| Period / Scope | Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final 4 matches of last season | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Current season (overall) | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| Last 7 Premier League games | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Recent run across all competitions | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
Liverpool’s form since winning the Premier League last season
The defensive unit, once the foundation of their success, has become porous, conceding nine goals from set-pieces already this season, a number that matches their total concession from the entirety of the previous title-winning year.
This bleak backdrop provides a stark explanation for a problem Arne Slot himself recently described as ‘ridiculous’.
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