Slot Provides No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way From Slump

Arne Slot stated he needed to “look at myself” after the Reds endured a sixth defeat in seven English top-flight games at home to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would discover a solution out of the title holders' slump.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest victory at Anfield in their history as Liverpool slipped to an 8th loss in eleven matches in every tournament. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was again anonymous and Liverpool contended Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort against City before the international break. But the manager admitted the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wants to hear me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine my own role first and my team, but it does show you how a score can alter the momentum of a game. Before I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Later we barely created any chances.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, where can we adjust?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.

“I wish to stress I am responsible for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are defeated. I can not provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not good enough and I am responsible for that.”

Liverpool’s performance fell apart as the coach introduced multiple attacking changes when pursuing the match. “It was the identical on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted the French defender off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s probably stupid.”

The Anfield side previously were defeated in two successive home league games against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The last time they suffered back-to-back top-flight games by a 3-0 scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Competing at home, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you encounter is a very, very bad result. Unexpected if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the initial half-hour perhaps the whole season, and the first time they arrived in our box they scored.

“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in all other game we have been the controlling team and were capable to create opportunities. Lately it is nearly consistently that we fail to convert our opportunities and the ones we allow find the net.”

Joshua Curtis
Joshua Curtis

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