Chaos at Anfield: Manchester United Deepen Slot’s Crisis as Babel Unleashes Scathing Verdict
Liverpool, October 19, 2025 – Once a fortress under Jürgen Klopp’s reign, Anfield cracked wide open on Sunday as Manchester United silenced the Kop with a gritty 2-1 victory, compounding Arne Slot’s struggles to four defeats in six league outings.
In a clash brimming with northwest rivalry, Bruno Fernandes coolly converted a 67th-minute VAR-awarded penalty after Cody Gakpo’s handball, before Kobbie Mainoo’s counterattack sealed Rúben Amorim’s first derby win. Mohamed Salah’s early 12th-minute strike was left as a hollow consolation.
The Kop, subdued and restless, booed at full-time—a painful echo of Liverpool’s slide from relentless title contenders to faltering third-place chasers, now nine points adrift of leaders Manchester City. As red flares lit the night sky and fans knotted scarves in defiance, former winger Ryan Babel delivered a brutal assessment that cut across continents:
“I don’t know who needs to hear this… but this current squad are not the Liverpool team of last season.”
Babel’s Blast: “Slot Has Turned the Club Upside Down”
Broadcasting from Dubai on his Ryan Babel Podcast, the 38-year-old Dutchman—who made 91 appearances for Liverpool between 2007 and 2011—aimed his fury squarely at Arne Slot.
“Since arriving, he’s flipped the club on its head—exactly like what happened at his last job,” Babel declared.
Slot, the 47-year-old tactician who guided Feyenoord to Eredivisie glory, had promised evolution, not revolution upon succeeding Klopp. Yet his tactical tinkering and constant rotation have left Liverpool in disarray, shipping 12 goals in six losses across all competitions—including Champions League defeats to AC Milan and Benfica.
“At Feyenoord, he won trophies but divided the dressing room. Now it’s happening again. The spark’s gone, the fight’s gone. This isn’t evolution—it’s confusion,” Babel added.
Derby Disaster Exposes Deep Cracks
Liverpool’s evening began with promise. Salah, ageless at 33, curled home a signature finish to ignite early hope. But Slot’s 4-2-3-1 formation, stripped of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s creativity after his £100 million switch to Real Madrid, soon unraveled.
Conor Bradley, thrust in as replacement, was tormented by Marcus Rashford, conceding three fouls before halftime. In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch—once dubbed Slot’s “perfect pivots”—crumbled under United’s relentless press, completing just 72% of their passes, their lowest since Klopp’s title-winning campaign.
Up front, Darwin Núñez missed two gilt-edged chances, his 1.2 xG producing no goals, emblematic of Liverpool’s growing inefficiency. Amorim, vindicated after United’s rebuild, summed it up coolly:
“We came to bite, not bark.”
Slot, pale and frustrated, admitted:
“Moments define derbies. We had ours—but lacked belief.”
Babel Targets Wirtz: “He’s Lost, Not Learning”
Babel’s sharpest criticism landed on Florian Wirtz, Liverpool’s £100 million marquee signing from Bayer Leverkusen. The 22-year-old, heralded as Slot’s “De Bruyne heir,” has produced no goals and a single assist in 10 league starts—substituted at halftime in four of his last six matches.
“He’s a flop right now,” Babel seethed. “Wirtz looks adrift—no spark, no press, no vision. Slot’s system needs warriors, not passengers. Bench him. Elliott and Bajcetic deserve their shot.”
Against United, Wirtz managed just 28 touches and zero key passes, a pale shadow of his 2024–25 brilliance at Leverkusen (18 goals, 19 assists in their double-winning season). Slot’s defense—“adaptation takes time”—rang hollow to fans who’d heard the same refrain during his Feyenoord fallout with stars like Calvin Stengs.
Backlash Builds: Fans Turn, FSG Take Note
The repercussions have been fierce. Attendance dipped to 58,000, chants of “Jürgen’s Reds” echoed through the stands, and #SlotOut surged past 250,000 posts on X.
In Boston, FSG executives reportedly reviewed the club’s £150 million summer spending—Wirtz, Alexander Isak (£80m), and Viktor Gyökeres (£60m)—questioning the wisdom of a rebuild now teetering on collapse.
Veteran Virgil van Dijk summed up the mood:
“Last season’s hunger? It’s faded. We need to find it again.”
Salah, ever the symbol of resilience, posted a cryptic message afterward:
“Storms pass, but unity endures.”
Yet whispers persist of a £1.5 million-a-week offer from Al-Hilal, as the Egyptian’s contract edges toward its 2026 expiry.
“Fix It Before It’s Fatal”
Babel, fined by the FA in 2011 for tweeting criticism of referee Howard Webb, ended his tirade with reluctant optimism:
“Slot’s a smart coach, but he must stabilize this ship fast. The talent’s there—he just needs to stop overcomplicating before it’s too late.”
The punditry chorus followed suit. Jamie Carragher labeled it “Liverpool’s darkest derby since 2015,” while Gary Neville gloated: “United’s steel exposed the cracks in Liverpool’s shine.”
As Slot heads home to the Netherlands for reflection during the international break, the message from fans and former players alike is clear: this isn’t evolution—it’s erosion.
Babel’s haunting refrain still lingers across Merseyside:
“I don’t know who needs to hear this… but this current squad are no longer the Liverpool team of last season.”
Anfield must awaken—or face the abyss.
