Liverpool's Manager Provides No Excuses and Vows to Find Way From Malaise
Liverpool's head coach stated he had to “examine my own performance” following Liverpool endured a 6th defeat in seven Premier League games at home against Forest and insisted he would find a way from the champions’ poor run.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as Liverpool fell to an eighth loss in 11 matches in every tournament. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort against Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But Slot admitted the buck stopped with him and offered no alibis.
“No one wants to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should examine myself initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Later we barely generated anything.
“Naturally there is a way out, particularly with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘Where 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 current losses. You are responsible when you are winning but also liable when you are defeated. I can never provide sufficient excuses for us to have the results we have. That is far from good enough and I am to blame for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as Slot introduced several attacking substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the identical away at Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was courageous, now it’s probably unwise.”
Liverpool last lost back-to-back at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive league matches by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I haven’t seen us producing so much in the opening half-hour maybe the entire season, and the first time they entered in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the controlling side and were able to create opportunities. Lately it is almost constantly that we miss our chances and the ones we allow go in.”