Arne Slot didn't mince words after Liverpool's latest collapse: "We crumbled." The admission came after a humbling 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa, a result that piled more misery on a season already defined by fragility and unwanted records.

For the second straight week, Liverpool's traveling fans voted with their feet. Just as Anfield had emptied before full-time against Chelsea, the away end at Villa Park thinned out long before the final whistle. Dominik Szoboszlai, the club's player of the season, offered a heartfelt apology to those who stayed after his costly mistake. With only one game left, the end of this forgettable campaign can't come soon enough.

Slot pointed to nine absent players as a factor, but injuries alone don't excuse yet another passive, disjointed performance. As Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher put it before kickoff: "They are very poor in possession and very poor out of possession."

The numbers paint a brutal picture. This was Liverpool's 19th defeat of the season across all competitions—a staggering tally. Their away record against the rest of the top nine reads: played eight, lost seven, drawn one. The defense, once a hallmark of the club's identity, has become a leaky sieve.

Despite the turmoil, Slot insisted his side only needs "a little bit of transition" this summer and expressed confidence he'll still be in charge next season. "I can understand at this moment in time the fans don't have confidence that things can be much better," he said. "But they are underestimating what a transfer window can do, what a new start can do."

Still, the warning signs are hard to ignore. Even with a full week to prepare for each of their last three games—against Manchester United, Chelsea, and Villa—Liverpool delivered three poor performances. At Old Trafford, United handed them a lifeline, but Liverpool still lost. Against a Chelsea side that had lost six straight league matches, Slot's men failed to capitalize. And on Friday night in Birmingham, their only consistent threat came from 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha—a bright spot in an otherwise dim evening.

For a club that once prided itself on resilience, Liverpool now looks like a team in desperate need of a reset. The summer window can't open soon enough.