Slot Offers No Excuses and Vows to Find Way Out of Malaise
Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “examine my own performance” after the Reds suffered a 6th loss in 7 English top-flight games at home to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a way out of the champions’ slump.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest victory at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool fell to an eighth loss in eleven matches in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued Murillo’s first goal ought to have been ruled out for similar reasons to the captain's chalked-off goal against City prior to the international break. But the manager admitted the buck rested with him and made no excuses.
“Nobody wishes to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at my own role initially and my squad, but it does show you how a score can change the momentum of a game. Before I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we barely created any chances.
“Naturally there is a path forward, particularly with the quality players we have. No matter if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, where can we make changes?’ but that is different from doubting your abilities.
“I want to emphasise I am accountable for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also liable when you are losing. I can not provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not good enough and I am responsible for that.”
The team's performance unravelled as the coach made multiple offensive substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s probably unwise.”
The Anfield side previously were defeated in back-to-back at Anfield Premier League games against Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back league games by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.
Slot commented: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, losing 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a very, very bad result. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us producing so much in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area they scored.
“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the dominant team and were capable to generate opportunities. Recently it is nearly consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we allow find the net.”