🔗 Share this article

Arne Slot declared he needed to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a sixth loss in 7 Premier League games at home against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a way from the champions’ poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the largest win at Anfield in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth loss in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was again anonymous and the home side argued Murillo’s opener ought to have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's chalked-off goal versus City prior to the international break. But the manager conceded the buck rested with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wants to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I should examine my own role initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a goal can alter the flow of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Afterwards we hardly generated any chances.

“Of course there is a way out, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you triumph or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from questioning yourself.

“I want to emphasise I am responsible for the present defeats. You are responsible when you are victorious but also responsible when you are losing. I can not provide sufficient reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

The team's display unravelled as the coach introduced several attacking substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the identical away at Nottingham Forest last season,” he said. “I took the French defender out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he scored straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s probably unwise.”

The Anfield side last lost two successive at Anfield league fixtures against Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive top-flight games by a three-goal scoreline was in 1965.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which opponent you encounter is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so much in the opening half-hour perhaps the entire campaign, and the first time they arrived in our penalty area they found the back of the net.

“It wasn’t at City, but in every other fixture we have been the dominant side and were capable to create chances. Recently it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the attempts we allow go in.”