Liverpool 1-4 PSV Eindhoven
by James Nalton
at Anfield

LIVERPOOL lost by a three-goal margin for the third game in a row, looking bereft of confidence and ideas as they slumped to a second Champions League loss and their ninth defeat in the last 12 games.

Eredivisie table-toppers PSV Eindhoven, a team founded by workers at the Dutch company Philips, which developed the first compact cassette tapes and the compact discs, didn’t have to do anything innovative against Liverpool.

Arne Slot’s team are known to struggle when an opposition team regularly plays long balls against them, but PSV didn’t do that either. Their own Dutch head coach, Peter Bosz, persisted with his style of possession football, playing out from the back with mixed results at first, but sticking with it and eventually finding a way around Liverpool’s press, which, in its current form, offers plenty of avenues of escape.

The first goal came from an unusual defensive moment, the kind that are becoming all too usual for Liverpool, when Virgil van Dijk inexplicably batted the ball with his raised hand when defending a corner.

The penalty was dispatched by Ivan Perisic, who plays for PSV now, and there was a familiar sinking feeling around Anfield, followed quickly by an attempt to rouse the players.

Dominik Szoboszlai equalised not long after, and for a short moment it looked like the home team might take advantage of PSV’s refusal to go long. 

A second Liverpool goal looked on the cards, and they were playing as they did in the opening stages of their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend. 

As was the case on Saturday, the goal that looked like it was just around the corner never came. Instead, it was PSV who got a second of their own, then a third before Slot had time to think beyond his usual tactic when behind of putting midfielder Ryan Gravenberch in the defence and replacing Ibrahima Konate with a forward. 

PSV scored a fourth in added time to round off a memorable night for their supporters, whose taunts to Liverpool fans throughout were laced with humour. 

They sang “always look on the bright side of life” and waved in unison as Liverpool fans began to head for the exits with 15 minutes remaining.

It was an indication from the home fans that there is no longer the faith that their team can mount late comebacks as they were doing earlier in the season. 

The faith that they can win going into games is also dwindling, and Slot has the biggest task of his managerial career on his hands to turn this around.