‘My biggest concern...’ – Steve Nicol voices Liverpool worry which has been a recurring theme

Molineux, Tuesday night: the clock nudged 90+3 when Andre Trindade arrowed Wolves’ second shot of the evening past the goalkeeper, sealing a 2-1 win for the Premier League’s bottom club and plunging Liverpool into fresh introspection. It was the fifth time this season that Jürgen Klopp’s successor, Arne Slot, has watched his side concede a decisive goal in stoppage time, and former Reds defender Steve Nicol believes the pattern has become impossible to ignore.

Speaking on ESPN FC, Nicol did not mince words. “My biggest concern is that it doesn’t matter who Liverpool play against… they can lose,” he said. “When you’re stepping on a field and you’re not sure what you’re going to get, that’s not acceptable at a club like Liverpool. Everybody who plays against Liverpool know they’re going to get a shot and probably going to score.”

The numbers back up the anxiety. In 11 fixtures against the current bottom six, Liverpool have already dropped 12 points; without Alexis Mac Allister’s 98th-minute winner at Nottingham Forest last month, that tally would read 14. Such generosity against relegation-threatened opposition is proving toxic to Champions League ambitions, especially when victories over Arsenal, Real Madrid and Inter Milan earlier in the campaign hinted at a squad capable of mixing it with Europe’s elite.

Contrast last season’s resilience: when Southampton and Leicester—both ultimately relegated—took leads against the Reds, there remained an ironclad belief that a comeback was imminent. This term, the opposite feeling prevails. Once Liverpool trail to lower-table sides, the only inevitability is another damaging result to add to an already top-heavy pile.

Wolves embodied the new reality. Despite mustering just four shots, Gary O’Neil’s relegation-haunted side soaked up sporadic Liverpool pressure and pounced on two late mistakes, turning a potential point for the visitors into a morale-sapping defeat. The outcome leaves Slot’s men outside the top four places and fuels the narrative that opponents no longer fear a trip to Anfield or any venue where the red shirts line up.

Joe Hart, working alongside Nicol in the studio, still predicts a top-five finish for Liverpool, yet each slip raises the decibel level of doubt among supporters who began August dreaming of a title tilt. For Nicol, the Jekyll-and-Hyde storyline is no longer a subplot; it is the story. “It’s one thing to talk about big games in a season,” he reiterated, “but when the team’s identity is uncertainty, you’ve got a problem.”

With the season entering its decisive stretch, Liverpool must solve that problem quickly or risk watching next season’s Champions League from the outside—an unthinkable prospect for a club that has traded on European nights and relentless consistency.