Liverpool Gets Slapped by Karma "Arne Time"

LONDON, SATURDAY — The phrase Arne Time, which had recently gained traction in Liverpool, seems to have faded away completely. Recently, the opposite has occurred. "The Reds" have suffered two consecutive defeats in the English Premier League due to conceding goals in the final minutes of the matches. After Crystal Palace, it was Chelsea's turn to silence Liverpool, 2-1, thanks to a last-minute goal from Estevao.

Liverpool is aiming for a revival mission as they visit Chelsea's home ground, Stamford Bridge, in London, on Saturday (5/10/2025) evening WIB, after experiencing a perfect start to the season. Liverpool has gone two matches without a victory. The team, managed by Arne Slot, was defeated by Palace and then succumbed during their visit to Galatasaray in the continuation of the Champions League.

Instead of creating a resurgence, Liverpool has been confronted with a bitter reality. After Palace, Chelsea inflicted a similar wound by scoring in the dying minutes. This is ironic considering Liverpool's perfect start to the season, which saw them unbeaten in seven matches across all competitions, achieved by scoring goals at the end of the games.

Due to their frequent scoring in the final minutes, Liverpool fans have begun to compare this habit to that of Manchester United under the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who often scored decisive goals with just seconds remaining in the match. This phenomenon is known as Fergie Time, characterized by Ferguson's gesture of frequently glancing at his watch to intimidate opponents.

The phrase Arne Time has emerged in response to Liverpool's habit of securing victories in the final minutes. However, all of that is now in the past. Arne Time has now taken a different stance regarding Liverpool.

"It's hard (to accept). I think we obviously played against a very good team. In the first half, they scored a great goal, but I think the score was level. In the second half, we fought hard to equalize and played a little better than them. But they're dangerous on the counter-attack. To concede in the final minutes is hard to accept," said Liverpool left winger Cody Gakpo, as quoted by BBC Sport.

Trailing due to a goal from Moises Caicedo, Liverpool managed to make a comeback in the second half thanks to Arne Slot's decision to substitute several players who were not performing at their best, such as Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley. Kerkez was replaced by Andrew Robertson, while Bradley, who often struggled to stop Alejandro Garnacho's maneuvers, was taken off and substituted by Florian Wirtz. Wirtz was positioned as an attacking midfielder, replacing Dominik Szoboszlai. Bradley's position as right-back was then filled by Szoboszlai.

The substitution enhanced the effectiveness of Liverpool's attack, even though they did not dominate possession of the ball. The highlight came when Szoboszlai, who was playing as an emergency right-back, delivered a cross to Alexander Isak. With a slight touch, Isak set up the ball for Gakpo, who immediately struck to score.

Isak's lightning touch can be considered his greatest contribution since joining Liverpool. The brief preseason due to his transfer at the end of the transfer window left Isak with little time to adapt to his new teammates.

At the moment Gakpo felt that his goal would save Liverpool from three consecutive away defeats across all competitions, Chelsea's right winger, Estevao, disrupted that plan. Estevao's presence in the penalty area was belatedly closed down by Robertson, who was fatigued from constantly moving up and down to assist both in attack and defense.

"We know (Mohamed) Salah is always ready for a counterattack. So we practiced, and the manager said there might be space (open) there (on the right side of Liverpool's defense). We saw that in the last minute, but we kept attacking. I tried to make my last effort, and Enzo passed me the ball. I then crossed it to Estevao," said Chelsea's left-back, Marc Cucurella.

The draw that was within reach suddenly vanished. Liverpool must once again accept the reality of being a struggling team in away matches. On the other hand, defeating Liverpool will always feel sweet for Chelsea. The victory feels even more special as Chelsea played without several key players, including forward Cole Palmer.

Palmer's absence placed Chelsea in a very unfavorable position. Therefore, when Estevao secured Chelsea's victory in the final minutes, it was not surprising that Chelsea's manager, Enzo Maresca, also ran to celebrate the goal with his players in the corner of the field.

"We deserve this moment. This week has not been easy for us. Playing in the Champions League, we have matches every few days. This is good because if we lose, we will face another match in a few hours. In the middle of the week, we struggled in the final minutes, but we managed to create this momentum together with the fans. Then today we started the match in the right way. We also scored early and began to gain confidence," Cucurella stated.

This defeat has caused Liverpool's position at the top of the standings to be overtaken by Arsenal, who won 2-0 against West Ham in another match. Meanwhile, for Chelsea, the additional three points have boosted their position to sixth place.

With three consecutive defeats, the Liverpool players are at risk of losing confidence. However, they must quickly bounce back as Manchester United is waiting for them in the next match after the international break.