Slot Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Plot Way From Slump
Arne Slot stated he needed to “examine my own performance” after the Reds endured a 6th defeat in seven Premier League games at home against Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a way from the champions’ poor run.
Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the biggest victory at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool slipped to an eighth defeat in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and Liverpool argued the defender's opener ought to have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal versus Manchester City before the international break. But the manager admitted the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.
“No one wishes to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should look at my own role first and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to score a strike. Afterwards we hardly generated any chances.
“Of course there is a way out, especially with the talented players we have. No matter if you win or lose when you reflect you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is different from questioning your abilities.
“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the current defeats. You are answerable when you are victorious but also responsible when you are losing. I can never come up with enough excuses for us to have the results we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
Liverpool’s performance fell apart as the coach made multiple offensive changes when chasing 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 unwise.”
Liverpool last lost back-to-back at Anfield Premier League games against Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive top-flight matches by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.
Slot commented: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which team you encounter is a very, very bad result. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I haven’t seen us creating so much in the initial 30 minutes maybe the entire season, 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 game we have been the controlling team and were capable to create chances. Lately it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our opportunities and the ones we concede find the net.”