Slot Provides Zero Justifications and Pledges to Plot Way Out of Slump
Arne Slot stated he had to “look at myself” following the Reds endured a 6th defeat in seven English top-flight matches at home to Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a solution out of the title holders' poor run.
Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, delivered the largest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as Liverpool slipped to an eighth defeat in eleven fixtures in every tournament. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was once more anonymous and Liverpool contended Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's chalked-off goal versus City prior to the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.
“Nobody wants to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 at home to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I ought to examine my own role initially and my squad, but it does show you how a score can change the flow of a match. Earlier I was just hoping for us to score a strike. Afterwards we hardly created anything.
“Naturally there is a path forward, especially with the quality footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or are beaten when you reflect you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we do better, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting yourself.
“I want to stress I am accountable for the present defeats. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are losing. I can never come up with sufficient excuses for us to have the results we have. That is far from acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as the coach introduced multiple attacking changes when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on the Portuguese forward and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably unwise.”
Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive home Premier League games by Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive league games by a three-goal margin was in 1965.
Slot commented: “It was very bad. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which team you encounter is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour perhaps the entire season, and the initial occasion they entered in our box they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the controlling side and were able to generate opportunities. Lately it is almost constantly that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we concede find the net.”