Liverpool Sink to 45-Year Low Among Boos Against Burnley

Arne Slot addressed the fan unrest which Liverpool’s latest draw threw up.

Arne Slot was open-mouthed at his side’s 1–1 draw with Burnley. | Oli SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

Liverpool’s frustrating 1–1 draw with Burnley at Anfield on Saturday afternoon ensured that the defending champions have failed to beat all three of the newly promoted clubs at home in the same season for the first time since 1980–81.

Arne Slot’s side were held to a goalless stalemate by Leeds United to kick off 2026 while they escaped with a 1–1 draw from Sunderland’s visit in December thanks entirely to Federico Chiesa’s 50-yard sprint to clear Wilson Isidor’s stoppage-time effort off the goal line.

This 45-year low comes during a delicate run of form. Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 12 matches across all competitions but half of those have been draws. As The Athletic pointed out, Slot’s record of 21 points from his previous 17 league matches is almost the same ratio (1.25 points per game) which Roy Hodgson recorded across his final 20 games as Liverpool manager before getting sacked in January 2011 (1.24 points per game).

---

Liverpool’s Home Record Against Newly Promoted Teams

Another frustrating day for the Reds. | Oli SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

Date	Opponent	Outcome
Dec. 3, 2025	Sunderland	1–1
Jan. 1, 2026	Leeds	0–0
Jan. 17, 2026	Burnley	1–1

---

Anfield did not take kindly to another draw against opponents who had spent last season in England’s second tier, greeting the final whistle with boos. After all, this is entirely unfamiliar territory for those on Merseyside.

Prior to the current campaign, Liverpool had won 26 of their previous 28 Premier League home games against newly promoted opposition, losing just once—to Fulham in March 2021 at an empty stadium during the COVID-19 pandemic. No side fresh from promotion has won a league game at Anfield in front of fans since Blackpool defeated Hodgson’s Liverpool in October 2010.

---

Slot Accepts Liverpool Boos

Liverpool's unbeaten run stretches to 12 games - does the amount of draws take some of the shine away from the achievement? pic.twitter.com/q63dFwJRZL

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 17, 2026

Slot could do nothing but accept the opprobrium washing his way in the aftermath of another failed outing against recent Championship opposition. Liverpool thumped last season’s promoted contingent by an aggregate score of 10–3 on home soil, yet they have dropped six points from such matches this term.

“If you, as Liverpool, are not disappointed by having a draw at home to Burnley, then something is completely wrong,” Slot conceded. “I completely understand the frustration. I have the same frustrations, and the players definitely have the same frustrations, as the fans.”

The Dutch boss hailed the visitors’ dogged display. “We have to give credit to [Burnley] for defending, clearing balls off the line, all the things you want to see if you are the Burnley manager, trying everything to prevent us scoring.” Yet, he couldn’t look past the wastefulness of his own side’s performance.

Liverpool rattled off 32 shots on Saturday, their most of any match across all competitions this season. Dominik Szoboszlai clattered a penalty against the crossbar before Florian Wirtz’s crisp opener while Bashir Humphreys cleared two goal-bound efforts off the line for Burnley. The Clarets, by contrast, scored with their only shot on target.

“I think these games we have played quite a lot—where we are the team creating more than the team we face—but then we were losing those games,” Slot mused. “Then we have started to become a team that was a bit more careful in conceding chances, and that led to the fact that it made it also more difficult to create a lot.”

Based upon the quality and quantity of chances created and conceded, Liverpool got the tactical balance right against Burnley. Unfortunately, this luck-riddled sport offers few guarantees.

---