Slot Provides Zero Justifications and Pledges to Find Way Out of Malaise

Arne Slot stated he had to “examine my own performance” following the Reds suffered a sixth defeat in seven English top-flight matches on their own turf against Forest and insisted he would find a solution out of the title holders' slump.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their history as Liverpool fell to an eighth loss in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again unnoticeable and the home side argued the defender's first goal should have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's chalked-off goal versus City before the international break. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine myself first and my team, but it does show you how a goal can alter the flow of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to score a goal. Later we barely created anything.

“Of course there is a path forward, especially with the quality footballers we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.

“I want to emphasise I am accountable for the present losses. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing. I can never come up with enough excuses for us to have the results we have. That is far from good enough and I am to blame for that.”

Liverpool’s display unravelled as the coach made several offensive substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the same on the road at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in back-to-back home league fixtures by Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back top-flight games by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Playing at home, conceding 3-0 regardless of which opponent you encounter is a terrible result. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour maybe the whole season, and the first time they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen at City, but in all other game we have been the controlling team and were able to generate chances. Lately it is nearly constantly that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we concede find the net.”