Slot Offers No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way From Malaise
Arne Slot stated he needed to “examine my own performance” after Liverpool endured a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight games on their own turf to Forest and affirmed he would discover a solution from the title holders' slump.
Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, delivered the biggest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their history as Liverpool fell to an eighth loss in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was again unnoticeable and the home side contended Murillo’s opener ought to have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against Manchester City before the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and made no excuses.
“No one wishes to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should examine my own role first and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a goal can alter the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Afterwards we barely created anything.
“Of course there is a way out, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘Where can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.
“I wish to stress I am accountable for the present defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing. I can not provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as the coach made multiple offensive substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he scored straight away to equalize at 1-1. Then it was courageous, now it’s likely unwise.”
Liverpool last lost two successive home league fixtures by Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back top-flight matches by a three-goal margin was in 1965.
Slot said: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, losing 3-0 no matter which team you face is a very, very bad outcome. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I haven’t seen us producing so much in the opening half-hour perhaps the whole season, and the first time they entered in our box they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in all other game we have been the dominant side and were able to generate opportunities. Lately it is nearly constantly that we miss our opportunities and the ones we concede go in.”