Liverpool's Manager Provides Zero Justifications and Pledges to Plot Route From Malaise
Arne Slot declared he needed to “examine my own performance” after the Reds endured a 6th loss in 7 Premier League games on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would discover a way from the champions’ poor run.
Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, delivered the largest win at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club fell to an eighth loss in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and the home side contended the defender's opener ought to have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's chalked-off goal against Manchester City before the international break. But the manager conceded the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.
“No one wants to hear me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine myself first and my squad, but it does show you how a score can alter the flow of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Afterwards we hardly generated any chances.
“Naturally there is a path forward, particularly with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you triumph or are beaten when you look back you are always thinking: ‘Where can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.
“I want to emphasise I am responsible for the current losses. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never come up with enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from good enough and I am responsible for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as Slot made several attacking changes when chasing the match. “It was the same away at Forest last season,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. Then it was courageous, currently it’s probably unwise.”
Liverpool last lost two successive at Anfield Premier League fixtures by Forest in 1963. The last time they suffered consecutive league matches by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
Slot said: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the match. I haven’t seen us producing so much in the initial half-hour perhaps the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived 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 dominant side and were capable to generate opportunities. Lately it is nearly consistently that we miss our chances and the attempts we concede go in.”