Liverpool's Manager Provides Zero Justifications and Pledges to Find Way Out of Malaise

Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “examine my own performance” after Liverpool endured a sixth defeat in seven English top-flight matches at home to Forest and insisted he would find a way out of the champions’ poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, delivered the biggest win at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool fell to an eighth defeat in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and Liverpool contended Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City prior to the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wishes to listen to me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should look at my own role initially and my team, but it demonstrates you how a goal can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to net a goal. Later we hardly generated any chances.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless if you triumph 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 doubting your abilities.

“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never provide enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

Liverpool’s display fell apart as Slot introduced multiple offensive substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same away at Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted the French defender out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was courageous, now it’s probably unwise.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in back-to-back home league fixtures against Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive top-flight matches by a 3-0 scoreline was in the mid-60s.

Slot commented: “It was extremely poor. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a very, very bad result. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I haven’t seen us producing so much in the opening half-hour maybe the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they arrived in our box they scored.

“It wasn’t at City, but in all other fixture we have been the controlling side and were able to create opportunities. Lately it is nearly consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we allow find the net.”

Karen Caldwell
Karen Caldwell

Renewable energy consultant and green tech writer with over a decade of experience in sustainable development projects across Europe.