Slot Provides No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way From Slump
Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a 6th loss in 7 Premier League games at home to Forest and affirmed he would discover a solution from the champions’ poor run.
Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, delivered the biggest victory at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th loss in eleven matches in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City prior to the national team pause. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wants to listen to me now talking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should look at myself first and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a goal can change the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we hardly generated anything.
“Of course there is a way out, particularly with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘Where can we improve, where can we make changes?’ but that is different from doubting your abilities.
“I want to emphasise I am accountable for the current defeats. You are answerable when you are winning but also liable when you are defeated. I can not provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from good enough and I am to blame for that.”
Liverpool’s performance fell apart as the coach made multiple attacking substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s probably unwise.”
Liverpool last lost back-to-back at Anfield Premier League games by Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered back-to-back top-flight games by a 3-0 margin was in 1965.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing at home, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the match. I haven’t seen us producing so much in the opening half-hour perhaps the entire season, and the first time they entered in our penalty area they found the back of the net.
“It did not happen at City, but in every other game we have been the controlling side and were able to generate opportunities. Recently it is nearly constantly that we miss our chances and the ones we allow go in.”