Liverpool's Manager Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Plot Route Out of Slump
Arne Slot stated he needed to “examine my own performance” after Liverpool suffered a sixth loss in 7 English top-flight matches on their own turf against Forest and affirmed he would discover a way out of the champions’ slump.
Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, produced the largest win at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club fell to an 8th defeat in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and Liverpool argued Murillo’s opener should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against City before the national team pause. But the manager conceded the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wishes to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine myself first and my team, but it does show you how a score can change the momentum of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we barely created anything.
“Of course 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: ‘Where can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is different from doubting your abilities.
“I wish to stress I am responsible for the present losses. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are defeated. I can not provide enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not good enough and I am to blame for that.”
Liverpool’s performance unravelled as the coach introduced multiple attacking changes when pursuing the match. “It was the same on the road at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on the Portuguese forward and he scored immediately to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”
Liverpool previously were defeated in back-to-back home Premier League games against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back top-flight games by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.
The manager commented: “It was extremely poor. Competing at home, losing 3-0 regardless of which opponent you face is a very, very bad outcome. Surprising if you look at the first half-hour of the match. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the opening half-hour perhaps the entire season, and the first time they entered in our penalty area they scored.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in all other fixture we have been the controlling side and were capable to generate opportunities. Recently it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our opportunities and the attempts we allow find the net.”