BREAKING (and I use that word loosely): Arne Slot, a man who arrived at Liverpool looking like a cool substitute teacher who'd let you watch a DVD on a Friday afternoon, is now apparently one bad night in Paris away from collecting his P45 and a Deliveroo voucher for his troubles.

Sources close to sources tell me... actually, no, ESPN are reporting this one pretty openly. After a heavy FA Cup defeat that I can only describe as "not ideal if you're trying to keep your job," Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final against PSG has gone from "big game" to "clear your desk if this goes wrong." And look, I know I shouldn't find this exciting. I know football management is a serious profession involving tactics boards and pressing triggers and all that. But there is something darkly compelling about a match where the manager knows, the players know, the fans know, and probably even the ballboys know that this is It.

So naturally, I did what any responsible journalist would do. I went back through the archives and ranked the most notable occasions when a manager's "must-win, season-defining, legacy-on-the-line" match turned out to be the last game they ever managed at that club.

7. AVB at Tottenham (2014): André Villas-Boas was told the Manchester City game was his chance to "turn things around." They lost 6-0. He was gone by teatime. His post-match press conference lasted roughly as long as Spurs' defensive shape that afternoon, which is to say about forty-five seconds.

6. David Moyes' Everton Away (2014): The Chosen One was told the Olympiakos second leg was his moment to prove he belonged at Manchester United. They lost to Olympiakos. At Old Trafford. I still think about this sometimes when I'm trying to fall asleep.

5. Frank Lampard's Everything (2023): Every single game of Frank Lampard's second Chelsea spell felt like a "must-win defining moment." He won approximately none of them in a way that suggested he'd be there for the next one.

4. Ranieri at Leicester (2017): The man won the actual Premier League title. THE Premier League title. Then got sacked after a Champions League last-16 game. The players reportedly cried. I definitely cried. My nan cried and she doesn't even like football.

3. Emery's Final Emirates Outing (2019): Unai Emery was told the Eintracht Frankfurt game could "define his tenure." It did. Just not in the way anyone at the club had hoped when they used the word "define."

2. Gary Neville at Valencia (2016): Every game Gary Neville managed at Valencia was technically a must-win game because he'd lost so many of the previous ones. His final match was a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. In fairness, lots of managers lose to Barcelona. Most of them just don't look quite so haunted while doing it.

1. Slot vs PSG (2026, potentially): We don't know yet. That's what makes it so thrilling and so awful simultaneously. The man could produce a masterclass, Liverpool could steamroll PSG, and this whole article will look ridiculous by Thursday morning. Honestly? I hope it does. I genuinely like Slot. He seems like a thoughtful bloke who understands football at a molecular level.

But here's the thing about "must-win" games for managers under pressure: the pressure itself becomes the opponent. You're not just playing PSG. You're playing PSG while your players are reading their phones in the tunnel, while pundits are already debating your replacement on live television, while some fella called @AnfieldTruth47 is tweeting "Slot Out" from a toilet in Birkenhead.

Sources close to sources tell me that Slot is "calm and focused." Which is exactly what sources always say. Nobody's source has ever said "he's absolutely bricking it and had three Weetabix for dinner because he couldn't face cooking."

Wednesday night, Paris. One game. Everything on the line. I'll be watching through my fingers. Good luck, Arne. You're going to need it.