Liverpool's Manager Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Find Route Out of Slump
Arne Slot declared he had to “look at myself” after the Reds suffered a sixth loss in 7 Premier League games at home against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a way out of the champions’ slump.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the largest win at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool slipped to an 8th loss in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was again unnoticeable and the home side argued Murillo’s opener should have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the international break. But the manager conceded the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.
“No one wishes to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Liverpool head coach. “I should look at my own role initially and my team, but it does show you how a score can alter the flow of a match. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Later we barely generated any chances.
“Of course there is a way out, particularly with the talented players we have. No matter if you triumph or lose when you look back you are always considering: ‘Where can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.
“I want to emphasise I am responsible for the present defeats. You are answerable when you are winning but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never come up with sufficient reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's display fell apart as Slot made multiple attacking substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same away at Forest last season,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender out and put on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably unwise.”
The Anfield side previously were defeated in back-to-back home Premier League games against Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive top-flight games by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
The manager commented: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you encounter is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the game. I haven’t seen us creating so many chances in the opening 30 minutes perhaps the whole campaign, and the first time they entered in our box 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 able to generate chances. Lately it is almost consistently that we miss our chances and the ones we concede find the net.”