‘Mentality monsters’ no more: Why Arne Slot’s Liverpool just made brutal Premier League history after Man City collapse

Last Updated on 11 February 2026

Liverpool today etched their name in the Premier League history for an unwanted record under Arne Slot.

For years, the sight of a Liverpool player standing over the ball in the 90th minute meant one thing: inevitable heartbreak for the opposition. Under Jurgen Klopp, the “Mentality Monsters” turned late drama into an art form.

Fast forward to February 2026, and the script has been violently flipped. Following a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on February 8, where Erling Haaland dispatched a 93rd-minute penalty, Liverpool has officially entered the history books for all the wrong reasons.

Arne Slot’s side has now conceded four 90+ minute winning goals this season, a stat that makes them the joint-worst late-game ‘bottlers’ in Premier League history.

Liverpool join the historic stoppage-time hall of shame

Liverpool have joined an unwanted club. To find other teams that have conceded four last-gasp winners in a single season, you have to look at teams that were largely battling relegation, not title contenders.

Every other team on this list was either relegated or battling for mid-table. For a club like Liverpool who are defending champions to join this list is unprecedented.

From Jurgen Klopp’s emotional chaos to Arne Slot’s tactical rigidity

The core of the issue lies in the fundamental shift from Klopp’s emotional chaos to Slot’s tactical control.

• The Theory: Slot prefers a measured, 4-2-3-1 system designed to “rest in possession.” By moving the ball predictably and maintaining a rigid shape, the goal is to avoid the frantic “basketball games” that defined the end of the Klopp era.
• The Reality: When a game enters “the madness”, that 10-minute window of stoppage time where tactics go out the window, Liverpool looks paralyzed.
• The Collapse: Under Klopp, Liverpool embraced the chaos. Under Slot, they seem terrified of it. When the structure breaks, the weak mentality emerges, leading to high-profile errors like Alisson’s late challenge on Matheus Nunes that handed City the win.

Theory two: Klopp’s passionate man management vs Slot’s cold vibe

One more theory behind Liverpool’s weakened mentality is of course the absence of the contagious personality of Klopp on the sidelines.

Klopp’s best attribute was his man management. Players who played under him would have take a bullet for him.

Slot on the other hand has proven to be poor at man management. He has had a public falling out with their biggest star Mohamed Salah.

Slot has also been rumoured to have had a rift with Curtis Jones.

When players don’t really enjoy a manager’s personality or their coaching style, they would not be willing to fight for him. That perhaps could be a problem for Slot right now.

Liverpool collapse begun after early luck ran out

Interestingly, the first six games this season, Liverpool pulled off several late winners.

Liverpool started the season as “stoppage-time specialists,” including a 100th-minute winner by teenager Rio Ngumoha against Newcastle.

However, a lot of those performances did not warrant a win and perhaps the Reds were lucky to come out as winners.

The luck ran out against Crystal Palace back in September. In fact, it was the Eagles who scored a 97th minute winner to beat Liverpool 2-1.

After that game, their poor run began which now sees them sit in 6th place with 39 points, five points behind fourth placed Manchester United.

They then conceded a 96th winner against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and another late winner against Manchester United at Anfield.

Football Paparazzi’s view

Liverpool isn’t losing because they lack talent; they are losing because they have lost the psychological edge that once made them invincible.

If Slot cannot find a way to re-inject some of that Klopp-era “fire and fury” into his refined system, Liverpool’s Champions League hopes may vanish in the very minutes they used to own