Slot Provides No Excuses and Vows to Find Way From Slump

Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “examine my own performance” after the Reds endured a 6th defeat in 7 Premier League matches on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a way out of the title holders' poor run.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the largest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth loss in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and Liverpool contended Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City before the international break. But the manager admitted the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.

“No one wants to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I ought to examine my own role first and my team, but it does show you how a goal can alter the flow of a game. Before I was just hoping for us to score a strike. Later we hardly generated any chances.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. No matter if you triumph or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.

“I wish to stress I am accountable for the present losses. You are answerable when you are winning but also liable when you are losing. I can never come up with enough excuses 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 multiple offensive substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely unwise.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive home Premier League fixtures by Forest in the sixties. The last time they lost consecutive top-flight games by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Competing at home, losing 3-0 regardless of which opponent you encounter is a terrible outcome. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so many chances in the opening 30 minutes maybe the entire campaign, and the first time they entered in our box they scored.

“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in all other game we have been the controlling side and were capable to create chances. Lately it is almost constantly that we fail to convert our opportunities and the ones we allow go in.”

Tracy Wright
Tracy Wright

Lena is a strategy consultant and avid gamer, sharing practical advice to help readers master complex challenges.