Liverpool's Manager Provides Zero Justifications and Vows to Plot Route Out of Slump
Arne Slot stated he needed to “examine my own performance” following Liverpool suffered a 6th defeat in seven English top-flight games at home against Forest and insisted he would find a way out of the champions’ slump.
Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, delivered the largest win at Anfield in their history as Liverpool fell to an 8th defeat in eleven fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was once more anonymous and Liverpool contended Murillo’s first goal ought to have been ruled out for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort versus Manchester City before the international break. But the manager admitted the buck rested with him and made no excuses.
“No one wishes to listen to me now speaking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at my own role initially and my team, but it does show you how a score can change the momentum of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Later we hardly generated any chances.
“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the quality players we have. No matter if you win or are beaten when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘Where can we improve, where can we adjust?’ but that is different from doubting yourself.
“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the present losses. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are defeated. I can never come up with sufficient excuses for us to have the results we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
Liverpool’s display fell apart as Slot introduced multiple attacking substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took the French defender out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he scored straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was courageous, currently it’s probably unwise.”
Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive home Premier League games against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The last time they lost back-to-back league matches by a three-goal margin was in 1965.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which team you encounter is a terrible result. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the match. I haven’t seen us creating so many chances in the opening half-hour perhaps the entire season, and the first time they arrived in our penalty area they scored.
“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the controlling side and were capable to generate opportunities. Recently it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we concede go in.”