Arne Slot Under Siege: Liverpool Fans Turn Up Heat with Xabi Alonso Chants After FA Cup Rout

Liverpool manager Arne Slot walked off the Etihad pitch on Saturday to a soundtrack he will not soon forget. With the scoreboard reading 4–0 and the FA Cup quarter-final effectively over, travelling Kopites stayed behind not to applaud their players but to chant the name of Xabi Alonso, the former Reds midfielder now being touted as Slot’s potential successor.

The chorus of “Xabi Alonso!” that echoed around the stadium underlined the depth of supporter unrest after a performance in which Liverpool capitulated once City struck three times inside the opening 55 minutes. It was the clearest public indication yet that patience with Slot is eroding just months after he delivered a league title to Anfield.

According to multiple reports, Fenway Sports Group still intends to give the Dutch coach an opportunity to “put things right next season,” but that backing is conditional. Sources briefed to The Athletic say the position will become “untenable” if Liverpool fail to secure a Champions League berth. The club currently sits fifth in the Premier League, one point above Chelsea and within striking distance of both Manchester United and Aston Villa. A top-four finish is no longer assured, and missing out on Europe’s primary competition would carry heavy financial consequences after last summer’s significant outlay.

Slot’s decline has been stark. Liverpool lost only four of his first 45 matches, but since last March’s Champions League round-of-16 exit to Paris Saint-Germain they have been beaten in 20 of 59 fixtures. Wednesday’s return meeting with PSG at Parc des Princes therefore looms as another potential flashpoint; last season’s tie is viewed inside the club as the moment confidence drained from the squad.

While some fans argue a managerial change is required regardless of final league position, club legend John Barnes has urged caution. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Barnes questioned the logic of replacing Slot with Alonso, pointing to the Spaniard’s dismissal by Real Madrid after only seven months. “Did he not fail at Real Madrid? Was he actually a successful manager?” Barnes asked. “We won the league with Arne Slot and all of a sudden we want to sack him?”

Barnes, who joined Liverpool during the stable dynasty of the late 1980s, believes constant turnover undermines the identity of the club. “If Alonso comes and fails in his first year, do we sack him too?” he said. “Jürgen Klopp was 20 points off the top when he arrived, but we stuck with him. Managers need time.”

For now, Slot retains the support of the ownership, but the clock is ticking. Champions League qualification is the non-negotiable target, and every dropped point intensifies the calls for a managerial switch. The chants at the Etihad may have been the first public salvo, yet they are unlikely to be the last unless results turn quickly.