🔗 Share this article

Arne Slot declared he had to “examine my own performance” after Liverpool suffered a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight games at home against Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a way from the champions’ poor run.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, produced the biggest victory at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool fell to an 8th loss in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more anonymous and Liverpool argued the defender's first goal should have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's chalked-off goal against City before the national team pause. But the manager admitted the buck stopped with him and offered no alibis.

“No one wants to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should examine my own role initially and my team, but it does show you how a score can alter the flow of a match. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a goal. Later we hardly created anything.

“Naturally there is a way out, especially with the quality players we have. No matter if you triumph or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is different from doubting yourself.

“I wish to stress I am accountable for the present losses. You are answerable when you are winning but also liable when you are defeated. I can not provide enough excuses for us to have the results we have. That is not good enough and I am to blame for that.”

The team's performance fell apart as Slot introduced several attacking changes when pursuing the game. “It was the identical on the road at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s likely stupid.”

Liverpool last lost two successive home league fixtures against Forest in the sixties. The last time they lost back-to-back league matches by a three-goal scoreline was in 1965.

Slot said: “It was very bad. Competing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which team you face is a very, very bad outcome. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the match. I did not witness us creating so much in the initial half-hour maybe the entire season, and the first time they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were capable to generate opportunities. Recently it is almost consistently that we miss our chances and the attempts we concede go in.”