Liverpool's Manager Provides No Excuses and Vows to Plot Route Out of Malaise
Arne Slot stated he needed to “examine my own performance” following Liverpool suffered a 6th loss in seven Premier League games on their own turf to Forest and affirmed he would discover a solution out of the champions’ slump.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the largest win at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool slipped to an 8th loss in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more anonymous and Liverpool contended the defender's opener should have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But the manager admitted the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.
“No one wants to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should look at my own role initially and my squad, but it does show you how a score can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to score a strike. Afterwards we barely generated anything.
“Of course there is a way out, especially with the quality footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘Where can we do better, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is different from doubting yourself.
“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the current defeats. You are answerable 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 acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as the coach introduced multiple offensive substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the identical away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted the French defender out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely stupid.”
Liverpool last lost back-to-back at Anfield league fixtures against Forest in 1963. The last time they lost consecutive top-flight matches by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
Slot said: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, conceding 3-0 no matter which team you face is a terrible result. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I did not witness us producing so many chances in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the controlling side and were capable to generate chances. Recently it is almost consistently that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we concede go in.”