The make-or-break importance of Liverpool’s clash with Galatasaray must not be underplayed.
After a sorry, uninspiring defence of their Premier League crown, the Reds have a chance to give fans something to be proud of in Europe and the FA Cup.
Failure to do so risks turning supporters even more against the current regime.
The dissenters are not solely online boo boys, despite what some say: Anfield has voted with its feet and feelings as fans filtered out early on Sunday and those remaining at the stadium jeered in frustration at another win tossed away.
Whether the reaction is right or wrong is debatable; if it is in the Liverpool DNA to boo or leave early is also a point worth questioning. However, it is also not in the Liverpool DNA to be so flimsy, vulnerable and naive on the pitch.
Yet against Galatasaray at Anfield on Wednesday night, the Reds have a chance to start to turn the narrative back in their favour, with a tricky away trip to Brighton in the league and then an FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City to follow.
There is an international break in the middle of those fixtures but it is a defining period. Win all three and trust may be back, lose all three and Slot will be past the point of no return in the eyes of some.
Most people expect them to breeze past the Turkish league leaders, especially noting Galatasaray’s away form, but many also fancied Liverpool to blitz the ridiculed Tottenham Hotspur and boss Igor Tudor, who had been portrayed as a clown in the days before.
Many Liverpool fans walked out of Anfield before the final whistle against Tottenham
In hindsight, it was wrong to think Liverpool would ease past Spurs. This is a team, after all, which has lost at Wolves, drawn to Leeds twice, drawn at home to Burnley and lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield this season. The so-called relegation fodder has been a thorn in their side.
This stadium is no longer a fortress. Not this season anyway. Teams used to quake in their boots at the thought of coming to Anfield, now they probably rub their hands. Due to the negativity around the place, it might even be easier to play here as an opposition player than one in a Liverpool shirt.
The atmosphere is quiet apart from during You’ll Never Walk Alone and in the minutes after a home goal, fans are opting to beat the traffic over waiting for the inevitable late on-pitch collapse, while spare tickets are not uncommon.
No one is blaming the fans. The problems at Anfield, which Dominik Szoboszlai said did not help the players, are a symptom of sub-par football. It works both ways.
‘The thing that was most disappointing was our fans left unhappy,’ said vice-captain Andy Robertson yesterday.
‘Since I’ve been here for nine years now, our aim is always to be sending our fans home happy because when they go bounding out of Anfield we know we’ve done our job. In football that gives you the biggest satisfaction.
Arne Slot faces a make-or-break night after Mario Lemina gave Galatasaray a 1-0 advantage to take into the second leg at Anfield
‘On Sunday they weren’t happy, and neither were we, and I can completely understand that. But in terms of tomorrow night, it doesn’t worry me at all because Anfield, under the lights, our fans in that stadium; they’ve been here before and they’ll be here many, many times in the future.
‘They always produce special nights. We’ve been very lucky to have so many over the years that I have been here and I don’t think tomorrow night will be any different, but we have to give them something to shout about.’
Robertson has experienced many comebacks over his years on Merseyside, most notably coming from behind to beat Barcelona. A 3-0 loss in the Camp Nou? No problem.
Noting that, overturning a 1-0 deficit to Galatasaray should be small fry. The Turkish side, unlike Barcelona, do not have Lionel Messi and Co either. On paper, the task is like a casual, pleasant hike after scaling Mount Everest.
Yet Liverpool also do not possess the same weapons as back then. They are not the ‘Mentality Monsters’ Jurgen Klopp once dubbed and raved about.
But the game could be just as important in terms of defining the season. Defeat could be catastrophic for Slot, even though the long list of mitigating factors he has in his defence.
A win would not necessarily win over the doubters — but it would be a giant step in the right direction. It really is sink or swim.
