Liverpool's Manager Provides No Excuses and Vows to Plot Way From Malaise
Arne Slot declared he had to “look at myself” after the Reds endured a sixth defeat in 7 English top-flight games at home to Forest and affirmed he would find a way out of the title holders' slump.
Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, delivered the largest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as Liverpool fell to an 8th loss in 11 matches in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and the home side argued the defender's opener should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against City before the international break. But Slot admitted the responsibility stopped with him and made no excuses.
“Nobody wishes to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should examine myself initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a goal. Afterwards we barely created anything.
“Naturally there is a path forward, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you win or are beaten when you reflect you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we adjust?’ but that is different from questioning yourself.
“I want to emphasise I am responsible for the present losses. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are defeated. I can not come up with enough excuses for us to have the results we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as Slot made multiple offensive changes when chasing the match. “It was the identical away at Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. At that time it was courageous, now it’s likely unwise.”
The Anfield side last lost back-to-back at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The last time they lost consecutive top-flight matches by a 3-0 margin was in 1965.
Slot commented: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter 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 30 minutes perhaps the entire campaign, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in all other fixture we have been the dominant team and were able to generate chances. Recently it is nearly consistently that we miss our chances and the attempts we allow find the net.”