The curtain has officially come down on the 2025/26 season, and for Liverpool, the final day at Anfield was a microcosm of a exhausting, emotional, and heavily transitional campaign.
A 1-1 draw with a resilient Brentford side wasn’t the explosive finale the Kop had hoped for, but Kevin Schade’s second-half header cancelling out Curtis Jones close-range opener mattered little in the grand scheme of things.
The definitive mission had already been completed: Champions League football is officially locked in for next season.
Yet, as the post-match lap of honour began, the overwhelming feeling inside Anfield was one of major change.
This was the final time the Anfield faithful would see standard-bearers Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson pull on the famous red shirt, bringing a golden, trophy-laden nine-year era to an emotional conclusion.
Arne Slot’s debut year has been a grueling uphill battle, finishing well off the blistering pace of the previous campaign, but navigating a severe squad transition to guarantee top-tier European football is an objective achieved.
The match itself highlighted exactly where Liverpool currently shine, where they are desperately short, and what the hierarchy must address before August rolls around.
Here are 5 things we learned from Liverpool’s final-day draw against Brentford.
1. Robertson and Salah leave as Liverpool legends
From the moment the players walked out to the final whistle, Liverpool fans showed their full appreciation for Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah. Both players leave after nine seasons at the club, where they have been part of teams that won two Premier League titles and one Champions League.
Robertson commented after the game that the reception he received in that game will stay with him for the rest of his life.
2. Champions League football confirmed
With a 1-1 draw, Liverpool have booked their place in the Champions League for 2026/27. This has huge implications for Liverpool, both financially and for competition standards. The club want to be competing at the highest level, and that is ultimately in the chase for Champions League number seven.
t wasn’t pretty, and a fifth-place finish sitting some twenty points worse off than last season highlights the regression the squad has suffered.
However, elsewhere on the final day, Aston Villa’s dramatic 2-1 comeback victory against Manchester City at the Etihad locked the midlands club into fourth.
After Antoine Semenyo gave City a 23rd-minute lead, a sublime second-half brace from Ollie Watkins turned the game on its head to spoil Pep Guardiola’s final match in charge.
3. Salah breaks another record
It wouldn’t be a Salah farewell without another record broken. We were only inches away from a Salah free-kick goal in the first half as his left-footed effort came off the post. In the second half, he assisted Curtis Jones to bring him to 93 Premier League assists.
This saw him overtake Steven Gerrard as the Liverpool player with the most assists. The pair had previously been tied on 92 Premier League assists.
4. Ngumoha is the future
Rio Ngumoha has come into the Liverpool first team this season and is someone who Arne Slot needs to build his team and tactics around for next season. This was personified by his shot just before half-time that glided just past the post of Caoimhin Kelleher.
He finished the season with 19 Premier League appearances and scored two goals in the league. Ngumoha made 15 carries, five of which were progressive.
This dribbling style is something that provides more and more exciting moments for fans. Given more gametime and great backing from the manager, he could go on to become one of the best players in the league.
The winger will also get an incredible experience this summer when he joins the England World Cup squad for a pre-tournament training camp.
5. Liverpool fail to clear their lines again
Liverpool conceded their 53rd goal of the season as Kevin Schade headed home in the second half. This was 12 more than the 41 conceded in their title-winning campaign of 2024/25. Nine of these goals also came in the four games after they had won the title in their title win.
The goal conceded to Schade came after a crossing situation which wasn’t cleared fully, as a has been a problem on many occasions throughout the year. This is an area that Slot will need to focus on in coaching throughout the preseason ahead of next year.
ReadLiverpoolFC Verdict
Securing Champions League football makes the upcoming transfer window a completely different ball game. The financial windfall and prestige give Liverpool the exact leverage they need to replace icons like Salah and Robertson.
While the defensive fragilities and the drop-off from last year’s title win are obvious worries, the emergence of raw, elite talents like Rio Ngumoha gives us massive reason to be optimistic. Slot has navigated the roughest part of the transition; now, backed by elite European status, the hierarchy must hand him the defensive reinforcements needed to make Anfield a fortress again.
