Slot Offers No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way Out of Slump
Liverpool's head coach declared he had to “examine my own performance” after Liverpool endured a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight matches at home to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution out of the title holders' poor run.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the biggest victory at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth defeat in eleven fixtures in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again unnoticeable and Liverpool argued Murillo’s first goal should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City before the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I ought to look at myself first and my squad, but it does show you how a score can change the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to score a strike. Later we hardly generated anything.
“Naturally there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless 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 yourself.
“I wish to stress I am responsible for the present defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing. I can never provide enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's display fell apart as the coach introduced multiple offensive substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he remarked. “I took the French defender off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s likely unwise.”
The Anfield side last lost two successive home Premier League games by Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back top-flight matches by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
Slot commented: “It was very bad. Competing on home soil, losing 3-0 no matter which team you face is a terrible outcome. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the entire campaign, and the first time they entered in our penalty area they scored.
“It wasn’t at City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were able to create opportunities. Lately it is almost constantly that we miss our chances and the attempts we allow find the net.”