Slot Offers Zero Justifications and Pledges to Find Way Out of Slump
Liverpool's head coach declared he had to “look at myself” following the Reds endured a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight matches on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and insisted he would discover a solution from the champions’ slump.
Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the largest victory at Anfield in their history as Liverpool slipped to an 8th loss in eleven matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more anonymous and the home side argued the defender's opener should have been disallowed for comparable grounds to the captain's disallowed effort against Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But Slot admitted the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wants to listen to me now talking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine myself first and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a match. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Afterwards we hardly generated anything.
“Of course there is a way out, particularly with the quality footballers we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting yourself.
“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are victorious but also responsible when you are losing. I can not come up with enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”
The team's display unravelled as Slot introduced several attacking changes when pursuing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he said. “I took the French defender off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was courageous, currently it’s probably unwise.”
The Anfield side last lost two successive at Anfield Premier League fixtures by Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back top-flight games by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.
Slot commented: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which team you encounter is a terrible result. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so many chances in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they scored.
“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in all other fixture we have been the controlling side and were able to create opportunities. Lately it is almost constantly that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we allow find the net.”