Slot Offers No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Route Out of Slump
Arne Slot stated he needed to “look at myself” following the Reds suffered a 6th loss in 7 Premier League games at home against Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a solution out of the champions’ slump.
Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the biggest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th defeat in eleven fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more anonymous and the home side contended Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort versus City prior to the international break. But Slot conceded the buck stopped with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wishes to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a goal can change the flow of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we hardly created any chances.
“Naturally there is a way out, particularly with the quality players we have. Regardless if you triumph or are beaten when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘Where can we improve, where can we adjust?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.
“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the current losses. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are losing. I can never come up with sufficient excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's performance unravelled as the coach introduced multiple offensive substitutions when pursuing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he scored straight away to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably unwise.”
The Anfield side last lost back-to-back home league games against Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back league games by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, losing 3-0 no matter which opponent you encounter is a terrible result. Unexpected if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the dominant side and were able to generate chances. Lately it is nearly constantly that we miss our chances and the attempts we concede find the net.”
