Liverpool's Manager Provides No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Route Out of Slump

Arne Slot stated he had to “look at myself” following Liverpool suffered a sixth defeat in seven English top-flight matches on their own turf to Forest and insisted he would discover a way out of the title holders' slump.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, produced the largest victory at Anfield in their history as Liverpool slipped to an 8th defeat in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and the home side contended Murillo’s opener ought to have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort versus City before the international break. But Slot admitted the responsibility rested with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wants to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should examine my own role initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a goal can alter the momentum of a match. Earlier I was just waiting for us to score a goal. Later we hardly generated any chances.

“Naturally there is a path forward, especially with the quality players we have. Regardless if you win or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘Where can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is different from questioning your abilities.

“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 not come up with sufficient excuses for us to have the results we have. That is far from acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

The team's performance fell apart as the coach made multiple attacking changes when chasing the game. “It was the same on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took the French defender out and put on [Diogo] Jota and he scored immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely stupid.”

The Anfield side last lost two successive at Anfield league fixtures against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered back-to-back league games by a 3-0 scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, losing 3-0 regardless of which opponent you encounter 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 maybe the entire season, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they scored.

“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were able to generate chances. Lately it is nearly constantly that we miss our chances and the attempts we allow find the net.”

Janice Ward
Janice Ward

A seasoned travel writer and cultural critic with over a decade of experience exploring global destinations and luxury trends.