Liverpool's Manager Provides Zero Justifications and Vows to Plot Way Out of Slump
Liverpool's head coach stated he needed to “examine my own performance” following Liverpool suffered a sixth defeat in 7 Premier League games at home to Forest and insisted he would find a solution from the champions’ slump.
Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, produced the largest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth loss in eleven fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was again unnoticeable and the home side argued the defender's first goal should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But Slot conceded the responsibility rested with him and made no excuses.
“No one wishes to hear me now speaking 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 first and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the flow of a match. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Later we barely created any chances.
“Naturally 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 considering: ‘In which areas can we do better, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is different from doubting your abilities.
“I want to stress I am responsible for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are winning 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 good enough and I am responsible for that.”
The team's performance fell apart as the coach made several offensive substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender out and put on [Diogo] Jota and he scored straight away to equalize at 1-1. Then it was courageous, currently it’s probably stupid.”
Liverpool last lost back-to-back home Premier League games by Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive league matches by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a terrible result. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so much in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole season, and the first time they entered in our box they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the dominant team and were able to create chances. Lately it is nearly constantly that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we allow go in.”