Slot Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Plot Way Out of Slump

Liverpool's head coach declared he had to “examine my own performance” after the Reds suffered a sixth loss in seven English top-flight games on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution from the champions’ poor run.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, delivered the biggest victory at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club fell to an 8th loss in eleven matches in all competitions. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was again unnoticeable and Liverpool argued the defender's opener should have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal versus City before the national team pause. But Slot conceded the responsibility stopped with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wants to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I ought to examine my own role initially and my squad, but it does show you how a goal can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a goal. Afterwards we hardly generated anything.

“Naturally there is a path forward, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from questioning yourself.

“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the current defeats. You are answerable when you are winning 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 offensive changes when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took the French defender out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he scored straight away to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, currently it’s likely stupid.”

Liverpool last lost back-to-back home Premier League games against Forest in 1963. The last time they suffered consecutive league matches by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.

Slot commented: “It was extremely poor. Competing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a very, very bad result. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so much in the opening half-hour perhaps the entire campaign, and the initial occasion 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 generate opportunities. Recently it is almost constantly that we miss our chances and the attempts we concede go in.”

Christina Simmons
Christina Simmons

A seasoned journalist with over a decade of experience in investigative reporting and political analysis, focusing on European affairs.