Liverpool Must Edge Toward Perfection To Secure Champions League Qualification, Says Slot

Liverpool enter their trip to Sunderland needing near-perfect form to keep hopes of Champions League football alive. Arne Slot’s side sit sixth before MD26, already trailing the Premier League top four, and travel to the Stadium of Light on Wednesday after a late defeat against Manchester City further damaged their domestic campaign.

The loss to City underlined how fast fortunes shift in this title race. Liverpool were five points behind City with seven minutes left, but Erling Haaland’s late penalty turned that into an 11-point gap. The result also gave City a league double over Liverpool for the first time since the 1936-37 season.

Slot’s squad now chase both Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premier League standings. Liverpool are five points

behind United in fourth and sit a further four points back from fifth-placed Chelsea. Opta’s supercomputer simulations give Liverpool a 21.7% chance of finishing in the top four this 2025-26 season.

The same Opta projections show other rivals better placed for Champions League football. Aston Villa are rated at 70.2% to secure a top-four spot, Chelsea at 48.2%, and United at 35.1%. These figures reflect Liverpool’s inconsistent league form, with the club still searching for sustained momentum under Slot.

Slot accepts that Liverpool must now deliver sustained results against stronger opposition near the top. "[We have to be] close to perfection because of the points we are behind, Slot told reporters. We also know it is different when you are four points behind a team that is 18th or 19th in the league, because they usually don't pick up as many points as the number three, four or five picks up. So to close the gap to numbers three, four and five, that means you have to win a lot and that is not what we have done a lot this season, so that is why that has to be better and that is why we have to be close to perfection. "

Liverpool’s struggle to close matches is a major factor in that gap. The team have already conceded four 90th-minute winners in league fixtures this season. That total is the joint-most by any club across a single Premier League campaign, alongside Watford in 2017-18, West Ham in 2021-22, Watford again in 2021-22, and Southampton in 2024-25.

Liverpool Premier League form, Sunderland test and Champions League football chase

The meeting with Sunderland comes with Liverpool’s defensive record under scrutiny, especially late in games and away from home. Slot’s side have conceded 21 goals on their league travels, more than bottom club Wolves, who have let in 20. That tally reflects a pattern of dropped points outside Anfield this season.

Liverpool started the campaign strongly on the road with wins in their first two away league fixtures. Since then, however, they have managed only two victories from 10 away matches, drawing three and losing five. Those numbers contrast with the standards usually associated with Liverpool’s recent Premier League seasons.

Sunderland provide a difficult test, especially with Champions League football hopes on the line. The promoted side are unbeaten in all 12 Premier League home games this season, winning seven and drawing five. It is the longest unbeaten home start by a promoted club in the top flight since Nottingham Forest’s 21-game run in 1977-78, when Forest went on to win the league.

Liverpool Premier League standards and Champions League football expectations

Liverpool’s recent defeat against City also carried an unusual Anfield landmark. It was the first Premier League home loss in which Liverpool scored the opening goal since April 2017, when Crystal Palace won 2-1. Between those two defeats, Liverpool went 109 home league games unbeaten after scoring first, winning 98 and drawing 11.

Slot admits that the expectations at Liverpool remain high despite those statistics. "A draw feels like a loss at this club. That's definitely not easy for players as well, because they know what the standards of Liverpool mean, and we are not performing to the standards of Liverpool at the moment, and they feel that disappointment, Slot added. Mainly because we are so close every single game. Every game it feels as though we are going to win it but it doesn't happen. And that is probably more difficult than when you play a game and throughout the whole game you feel like the other team is better, and you're just not good enough. But that's not what they feel. They feel performance wise that they can compete with any other team in any league in the world. But the reality is that we don't perform to Liverpool standards. "

With Liverpool outside the Champions League places before MD26, Slot’s message is clear. Results, especially away from home and in the closing stages of games, must improve quickly. Sunderland’s strong record at the Stadium of Light adds further pressure as Liverpool try to move closer to the Premier League top four.