Liverpool's Manager Provides Zero Justifications and Vows to Find Route From Malaise

Arne Slot declared he had to “examine my own performance” after the Reds suffered a 6th defeat in 7 Premier League matches at home against Nottingham Forest and insisted he would discover a solution out of the champions’ poor run.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th loss in eleven fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and Liverpool argued the defender's opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort versus Manchester City prior to the international break. But Slot conceded the responsibility rested with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wants to listen to me now talking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine myself initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to score a strike. Later we hardly created anything.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless if you win or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘Where can we do better, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.

“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the current losses. You are responsible when you are victorious but also liable when you are defeated. I can never provide enough reasons for us to have the results we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

Liverpool’s performance unravelled as the coach made multiple offensive changes when chasing the game. “It was the identical on the road at Forest last season,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and put on the Portuguese forward and he scored straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was courageous, now it’s likely stupid.”

The Anfield side last lost two successive at Anfield Premier League fixtures by Forest in 1963. The last time they suffered consecutive top-flight games by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, losing 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a very, very bad outcome. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour perhaps the whole campaign, and the first time they entered in our penalty area they scored.

“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the dominant team and were able to generate opportunities. Lately it is almost constantly that we fail to convert our chances and the attempts we concede go in.”

Maureen Hess
Maureen Hess

A data scientist and AI researcher with a passion for making complex tech concepts accessible to everyone.