Slot Provides No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way From Slump
Arne Slot declared he needed to “examine my own performance” after the Reds endured a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games on their own turf to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a way from the title holders' poor run.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the biggest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th defeat in eleven matches in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued Murillo’s first goal should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But Slot admitted the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.
“No one wants to listen to me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should examine my own role first and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the flow of a match. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a goal. Afterwards we hardly generated any chances.
“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting yourself.
“I want to emphasise I am accountable for the current defeats. You are answerable when you are victorious but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never provide sufficient reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
Liverpool’s performance unravelled as the coach made multiple attacking changes when pursuing the match. “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 immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely stupid.”
The Anfield side previously were defeated in back-to-back at Anfield league fixtures against Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back league matches by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.
The manager commented: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you encounter is a terrible outcome. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the match. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour perhaps the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they scored.
“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the controlling team and were able to generate chances. Lately it is almost consistently that we miss our chances and the ones we concede find the net.”