Liverpool's Manager Provides No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Route From Malaise
Arne Slot declared he needed to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games at home against Forest and affirmed he would discover a way from the title holders' poor run.
Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, delivered the largest victory at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth loss in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and the home side contended Murillo’s first goal should have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against Manchester City before the national team pause. But the manager admitted the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wants to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should look at my own role first and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a match. Before I was just waiting for us to score a goal. Later we barely created any chances.
“Of course there is a path forward, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you win or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.
“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the present losses. You are responsible when you are victorious but also responsible when you are defeated. I can not come up with enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from good enough and I am to blame for that.”
Liverpool’s performance fell apart as the coach made several attacking changes when pursuing the match. “It was the same away at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was courageous, now it’s likely stupid.”
The Anfield side last lost two successive home league fixtures by Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive league games by a 3-0 scoreline was in the mid-60s.
Slot said: “It was very bad. Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which opponent you encounter is a terrible result. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the match. I haven’t seen us creating so many chances in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It did not happen at City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were capable to generate opportunities. Lately it is nearly consistently that we miss our opportunities and the ones we allow find the net.”