Liverpool's Manager Offers No Excuses and Vows to Plot Way Out of Malaise

Liverpool's head coach stated he had to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight games at home against Forest and insisted he would find a way from the title holders' poor run.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, produced the biggest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth defeat in 11 matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and Liverpool argued the defender's first goal ought to have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the international break. But the manager admitted the responsibility stopped with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should look at myself first and my squad, but it does show you how a goal can change the flow of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Later we barely generated anything.

“Of course there is a path forward, especially with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we adjust?’ but that is different from questioning your abilities.

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

Liverpool’s performance unravelled as the coach made several offensive substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest last season,” he said. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably stupid.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive at Anfield Premier League fixtures by Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive top-flight games by a 3-0 scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you encounter is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us producing so many chances in the initial half-hour maybe the entire season, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they scored.

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

Allen Cobb
Allen Cobb

A sports journalist and former athlete sharing expert insights on champion performances and fitness trends.