Slot Provides No Excuses and Vows to Plot Way Out of Malaise

Liverpool's head coach stated he had to “look at myself” following the Reds suffered a sixth defeat in seven English top-flight matches on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution out of the title holders' poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth loss in eleven matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and the home side contended the defender's first goal ought to have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort against Manchester City before the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck stopped with him and offered no alibis.

“No one wishes to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself initially and my squad, but it does show you how a score can alter the flow of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we barely created anything.

“Of course there is a way out, especially with the talented players we have. No matter if you triumph or lose when you reflect you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we do better, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.

“I wish to stress I am responsible for the current losses. You are responsible when you are victorious but also responsible 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 to blame for that.”

The team's performance unravelled as the coach made several offensive substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the identical away at Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side previously were defeated in back-to-back at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive top-flight matches by a 3-0 margin was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a terrible result. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the match. I haven’t seen us producing so many chances in the opening half-hour maybe the entire campaign, and the first time they arrived in our penalty area they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen at City, but in all other game we have been the controlling side and were capable to create opportunities. Recently it is almost consistently that we miss our chances and the ones we allow go in.”