If you had the chance to offer one piece of advice to Arne Slot, what would it be? Many Liverpool supporters have expressed frustration with one player after he appeared to react angrily toward fans in the away section at the Etihad Stadium.
On Saturday, 4 April, Slot’s side suffered a heavy 4–0 defeat against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, with Erling Haaland scoring a hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo adding another goal to secure the home side’s place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 39th minute after Virgil van Dijk fouled Nico O’Reilly, prompting referee Michael Oliver to award the spot-kick. The Norwegian doubled City’s lead in first-half stoppage time, heading in a cross from Semenyo past goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
City extended their advantage early in the second half when Semenyo lofted the ball over the Liverpool goalkeeper in the 50th minute, before Haaland completed his hat-trick just seven minutes later. To compound Liverpool’s difficult afternoon, Mohamed Salah — playing his first match since announcing his planned departure from Anfield — had a late penalty saved by City goalkeeper James Trafford.
After the final whistle, Liverpool players approached the away supporters to acknowledge their backing, but some fans were left unhappy with Dominik Szoboszlai after he was seen gesturing toward them. A video circulating online appeared to show the midfielder waving his arms in the direction of supporters before teammate Federico Chiesa stepped in.
Supporters quickly voiced their frustration on social media, criticizing what they viewed as inappropriate behavior following such a heavy defeat.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Szoboszlai admitted the team’s mentality fell short. He acknowledged that the fighting spirit was lacking and stressed the need for unity as the squad looks to respond in their next fixture.
Liverpool will return to action on 8 April when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Parc des Princes.
