Slot Offers No Excuses and Vows to Plot Route Out of Slump
Arne Slot stated he had to “look at myself” following the Reds suffered a sixth defeat in 7 English top-flight games on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a solution from the title holders' poor run.
Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool slipped to an 8th loss in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again unnoticeable and Liverpool contended the defender's first goal should have been disallowed for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But Slot conceded 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 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should examine myself first and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Afterwards we barely created any chances.
“Of course there is a way out, particularly with the quality players we have. No matter if you win or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is different from questioning yourself.
“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the present defeats. You are answerable when you are victorious but also responsible when you are losing. I can never provide sufficient excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's display unravelled as Slot made multiple offensive substitutions when pursuing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he remarked. “I took the French defender off and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”
Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive at Anfield Premier League games by Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back top-flight matches by a 3-0 margin was in the mid-60s.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing at home, conceding 3-0 regardless of which opponent you face is a very, very bad outcome. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the game. I haven’t seen us producing so many chances in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area they scored.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in all other fixture we have been the dominant side and were capable to generate chances. Lately it is nearly constantly that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we concede find the net.”