Liverpool's Manager Offers No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way From Malaise

Arne Slot stated he needed to “look at myself” following Liverpool endured a sixth loss in seven Premier League matches on their own turf against Forest and affirmed he would find a way from the champions’ poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the largest victory at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club fell to an 8th defeat in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and the home side contended Murillo’s opener ought to have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against City before the international break. But Slot admitted the responsibility rested with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I ought to look at my own role 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 score a strike. Afterwards we hardly generated anything.

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

“I want to stress I am accountable for the present defeats. You are responsible when you are victorious but also liable when you are losing. I can never provide sufficient excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not good enough and I am to blame for that.”

Liverpool’s display fell apart as the coach made multiple attacking changes when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took the French defender off and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s probably stupid.”

The Anfield side last lost two successive home league fixtures against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back top-flight games by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.

Slot said: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a very, very bad outcome. Surprising 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 entire campaign, and the initial occasion they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen at City, but in every other fixture we have been the controlling side and were able to generate chances. Lately it is nearly consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we concede find the net.”