🔗 Share this article

Liverpool's head coach stated he had to “look at myself” following the Reds suffered a 6th defeat in 7 Premier League games on their own turf against Forest and insisted he would find a solution from the champions’ poor run.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th loss in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was again unnoticeable and the home side contended the defender's opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the international break. But Slot admitted the responsibility rested with him and made no excuses.

“No one wants to listen to me now talking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself first and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can change the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a goal. Later we barely generated anything.

“Naturally there is a way out, especially with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or are beaten when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is different from questioning your abilities.

“I wish to stress I am responsible for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing. I can not come up with sufficient reasons for us to have the results we have. That is not good enough and I am to blame for that.”

The team's performance unravelled as the coach introduced several attacking substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted the French defender off and put on the Portuguese forward and he scored straight away to make it 1-1. At that time it was courageous, currently it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side last lost two successive home league fixtures by Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they suffered back-to-back top-flight matches by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Competing at home, conceding 3-0 no matter which team you face is a very, very bad result. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the match. I haven’t seen us creating so many chances in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole season, and the first time they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.

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