Slot Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Find Route From Malaise
Arne Slot stated he had to “look at myself” after the Reds suffered a 6th defeat in 7 Premier League games at home to Nottingham Forest and insisted he would discover a solution from the champions’ slump.
Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, delivered the largest win at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth defeat in 11 matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was again anonymous and Liverpool argued the defender's opener ought to have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against City prior to the national team pause. But the manager conceded the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.
“No one wishes to listen to me now talking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should examine myself first and my team, but it does show you how a goal can change the momentum of a match. Before I was just waiting for us to score a goal. Afterwards we barely created any chances.
“Naturally there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. No matter if you triumph or are beaten when you look back you are always thinking: ‘Where can we do better, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is different from doubting yourself.
“I want to stress I am responsible for the current losses. You are answerable when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing. I can never provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
Liverpool’s display unravelled as Slot introduced multiple attacking changes when pursuing the game. “It was the identical away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he scored straight away to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely stupid.”
Liverpool last lost two successive home Premier League fixtures by Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back top-flight matches by a 3-0 margin was in the mid-60s.
Slot said: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a terrible result. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I haven’t seen us creating so much in the opening 30 minutes maybe the entire season, and the first time they arrived in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the dominant side and were capable to generate chances. Recently it is nearly consistently that we fail to convert our opportunities and the ones we allow go in.”