Liverpool's Manager Offers No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way Out of Slump

Arne Slot declared he had to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a sixth defeat in 7 Premier League matches at home against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would discover a solution from the title holders' poor run.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the largest victory at Anfield in their history as Liverpool fell to an eighth loss in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was again anonymous and the home side argued the defender's opener ought to have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal against City prior to the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and made no excuses.

“No one wishes to listen to me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Forest,” stated the Liverpool head coach. “I ought to look at my own role initially and my team, but it does show you how a goal can alter the momentum of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Later we hardly generated anything.

“Of course there is a path forward, especially with the talented players we have. Regardless if you triumph or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is different from doubting yourself.

“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the current losses. You are responsible when you are winning but also liable when you are losing. I can never come up with enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

The team's display fell apart as the coach introduced several attacking substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender off and put on the Portuguese forward and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side previously were defeated in two successive home league fixtures by Nottingham Forest in 1963. The last time they suffered consecutive league matches by a 3-0 margin was in 1965.

Slot commented: “It was extremely poor. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a terrible result. Unexpected if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour maybe the whole season, and the initial occasion they entered in our box they scored.

“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant side and were able to generate opportunities. Recently it is almost consistently that we miss our chances and the ones we allow go in.”

Kimberly Ashley
Kimberly Ashley

A professional gambler and writer with over a decade of experience in casino games and strategy development.