Arne Slot Manager
Liverpool faced a significant setback as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at home against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday. This loss has pushed the Reds into the bottom half of the table, marking their sixth defeat in seven top-flight games. The match saw a controversial opener from Murillo, followed by goals from Nicolo Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White, equalling Liverpool’s heaviest home defeat in Premier League history.
Arne Slot said: “How bad that is difficult to measure but it was very bad. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the game. In my opinion, a good start from us. I haven’t seen us creating so much in the opening half-hour maybe the whole season, we were able to create a lot and the first time they arrived in our box they scored a goal. It is a very difficult cocktail to drink if you miss out on your own chances and every time you concede one the ball goes in.”
Slot continued: “Of course there is a way out, especially with the quality players we have. No matter if you win or lose if you make a line-up or make substitutions, when you look back you are also thinking ‘where can we do better, where we can adjust?’. But that is something else from doubting yourself. I want to emphasise I am responsible for the current losses: you are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing. That is far from good enough and I am responsible for that.”
Slot added: “It is my responsibility if we win or lose. What I also see is the team – and the fans stayed until the end – keep on trying until the end. It wasn’t at (Manchester) City – we were not the only team to struggle in the first half at City – but in every other game we have played we have been the dominant team and were able to create chances. Lately, it is almost constantly we miss our chances and then we concede – that will not continue all season but we need to have that moment of energy of scoring a goal. If you are playing well and score a goal to go 1-0 up the other teams feels, ‘we have played half-an-hour now and we are 1-0 and have hardly seen the ball’. But the opposite thing happened: they got a big energy boost from scoring 1-0. I see a lot of things where in a normal situation the result would have been different but we are now in a difficult situation and you need to do even more to get results when things are not going in your favour.”
Liverpool’s current form has raised concerns, with the team now holding a negative goal difference and having conceded 20 goals in their first 12 Premier League games. This is their worst defensive record since 1992. Additionally, the Reds have experienced back-to-back league defeats by a margin of three goals or more for the first time since 1965. Despite the challenges, Slot remains confident in his ability to steer Liverpool back to their championship-winning form from just six months ago. The manager’s acknowledgment of responsibility indicates a willingness to address the issues and make necessary adjustments to improve the team’s performance.
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