Slot Provides Zero Justifications and Vows to Plot Way Out of Malaise

Arne Slot declared he needed to “examine my own performance” after Liverpool endured a 6th loss in 7 English top-flight games at home against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a way from the title holders' slump.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, delivered the largest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th defeat in eleven matches in every tournament. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was again unnoticeable and Liverpool contended Murillo’s opener ought to have been ruled out for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against Manchester City prior to the international break. But the manager admitted the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wants to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I ought to look at myself first and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a match. Before I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Afterwards we barely created anything.

“Naturally there is a path forward, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you triumph or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘Where can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting yourself.

“I wish to stress I am responsible for the current losses. You are answerable when you are winning but also responsible when you are defeated. I can not 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 display fell apart as Slot made several offensive substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same on the road at Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and put on [Diogo] Jota and he scored immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was courageous, now it’s probably stupid.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in back-to-back at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive league matches by a three-goal scoreline was in 1965.

The manager commented: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a very, very bad outcome. Unexpected if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I did not witness us producing so much in the opening 30 minutes perhaps the whole season, and the first time they entered in our box they scored.

“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the dominant team and were able to generate opportunities. Recently it is nearly consistently that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we allow go in.”

Justin Smith
Justin Smith

A seasoned esports analyst and coach with over a decade of experience in competitive gaming strategies and player development.