Slot Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Plot Way Out of Malaise
Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “examine my own performance” following Liverpool suffered a 6th defeat in seven Premier League matches at home against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution from the title holders' poor run.
Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, produced the largest victory at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth defeat in eleven matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and the home side argued Murillo’s first goal ought to have been disallowed for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort versus Manchester City before the national team pause. But the manager admitted the responsibility rested with him and made no excuses.
“No one wishes to listen to me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself first and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the momentum of a game. Before I was just hoping for us to score a strike. Afterwards we barely created any chances.
“Of course there is a way out, especially with the quality footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we adjust?’ but that is something else from questioning yourself.
“I want to emphasise I am responsible for the present losses. You are responsible when you are victorious but also liable when you are losing. I can not come up with sufficient reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
The team's display unravelled as Slot made multiple attacking substitutions when pursuing the game. “It was the same away at Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted the French defender off and brought on the Portuguese forward and he scored straight away to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably unwise.”
Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered consecutive league games by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which opponent you face is a terrible result. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour maybe the entire season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant side and were capable to create opportunities. Recently it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we allow go in.”