Slot Provides Zero Justifications and Vows to Find Route Out of Malaise

Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a sixth loss in 7 English top-flight matches at home to Forest and affirmed he would discover a way from the champions’ poor run.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the biggest win at Liverpool's stadium in their history as the Merseyside club fell to an 8th loss in eleven matches in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and Liverpool argued the defender's first goal should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against Manchester City prior to the international break. But Slot admitted the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should examine myself initially and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a match. Before I was just waiting for us to score a strike. Afterwards we barely generated any chances.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you triumph 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 doubting yourself.

“I wish to stress I am responsible for the present losses. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are defeated. I can never provide sufficient reasons for us to have the results we have. That is far from acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

The team's display fell apart as Slot made multiple attacking substitutions when pursuing the game. “It was the same away at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on [Diogo] Jota and he scored straight away to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s likely stupid.”

Liverpool last lost back-to-back home league fixtures by Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive league games by a 3-0 margin was in the mid-60s.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, losing 3-0 regardless of which opponent you encounter 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 half-hour perhaps the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen at City, but in all other fixture we have been the controlling side and were capable to create opportunities. Recently it is nearly constantly that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we allow go in.”

Jennifer Cole
Jennifer Cole

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