Arne Slot's Liverpool Season Finale: A Chance to Reset

Arne Slot walked into Anfield a year ago with ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ still ringing in his ears from Rotterdam. On Sunday, the same anthem will close a very different season for Liverpool’s head coach.

The visit of Brentford brings down the curtain on a gruelling second campaign in charge, one that has stripped away the glow of that dazzling debut year and left bare the realities of life after Jurgen Klopp. Fifth in the table. No trophies. No parade this time.

From De Kuip to the Kop

The story really began at De Kuip. Feyenoord’s supporters knew Slot was leaving, knew he was bound for Liverpool, and chose to send him off with a song that belongs to both clubs.

Before and after their final match of the 2023/24 season, they stood and roared out ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. Slot, already confirmed as Klopp’s successor, walked the pitch, applauding back as they gave him a full ovation. An Eredivisie title the previous year, second place this time. No silverware that season, but no doubt about the bond.

That shared anthem meant he arrived on Merseyside already steeped in Liverpool’s soundtrack. The transition looked effortless. Slot’s first year in England brought only the club’s second Premier League title. The Kop embraced him. The league trophy confirmed him.

Twelve months on, the mood could hardly be more different.

Second season syndrome bites

This has been the hard year. The one managers talk about when the confetti has long since blown away.

Liverpool’s form fell off a cliff in Autumn, a wretched run of six defeats in seven games that turned questions into open doubts. The pressure on Slot grew week by week. Some inside and outside the club wondered whether he would even make it to this final home fixture.

Yet he has. The hierarchy have held their nerve and, crucially, held their line. Slot stays. The message from above is clear: one bad season will not tear up the project.

The numbers, though, tell their own story. Fifth place. No cups lifted. A squad that looked drained when it mattered most. The contrast with last May is stark.

Back then, Anfield was a carnival. Slot grabbed the microphone, led the crowd in Klopp’s song, and found himself drenched in champagne as players and supporters celebrated a title that felt like a new era. This weekend, no one is expecting fireworks or impromptu karaoke.

But this does not have to be a wake.

Anfield’s role in the reset

The Kop has seen enough eras to know when a season has taken its toll. It has also seen enough to know when a manager needs backing, not turning on.

This is one of those moments.

Sunday offers a chance to reset the mood without pretending the last nine months did not happen. The supporters can recognise the slog, the disappointments, the missed chances, and still choose to stand behind the man on the touchline.

Slot will walk out knowing the club’s decision-makers are with him. What he hears from the stands will tell him whether the wider Liverpool family feels the same. Feyenoord’s fans made their feelings clear when he left. Anfield now has its own verdict to deliver.

Salah, Slot and a shared farewell

Layered on top of all this sits another emotional thread: Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian forward is expected to play his final game for Liverpool on Sunday. A legend of the Klopp years, a symbol of the club’s modern resurgence, he has already made his feelings on Slot known and has not hidden his respect for the coach.

If this is indeed Salah’s last outing in red, he deserves a send-off worthy of his status. That does not clash with the backing of Slot; it can sit alongside it. One era bows out. Another is given room to breathe.

Anfield can do both in one afternoon: salute the “Egyptian King” and offer its manager a second chance.

The first year was a dream. The second has been a jolt. The real measure of Slot’s Liverpool will be what follows from here.