🔗 Share this article

Arne Slot stated he had to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a 6th loss in seven English top-flight matches on their own turf to Forest and insisted he would discover a solution out of the title holders' poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the largest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their history as the Merseyside club fell to an 8th defeat in eleven matches in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and Liverpool contended the defender's opener ought to have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against Manchester City before the international break. But Slot admitted the responsibility stopped with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should examine myself initially and my team, but it does show you how a goal can alter the flow of a match. Earlier I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Afterwards we barely created anything.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless if you win or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘Where can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.

“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the current losses. You are answerable when you are winning but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never come up with enough excuses for us to have the results we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”

Liverpool’s performance unravelled as Slot introduced several offensive changes when pursuing the match. “It was the same away at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was courageous, now it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side last lost back-to-back at Anfield Premier League games against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered back-to-back top-flight games by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.

The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which team you face is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you look at the first half-hour of the game. I haven’t seen us creating so many chances in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the entire season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our box they scored.

“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were capable to create opportunities. Recently it is nearly constantly that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we concede find the net.”