Liverpool's Manager Provides No Excuses and Vows to Find Route From Slump
Liverpool's head coach declared he needed to “look at myself” after the Reds endured a sixth loss in seven Premier League matches on their own turf against Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution out of the champions’ poor run.
Forest, fighting against the drop before kick off, produced the biggest victory at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as Liverpool fell to an eighth defeat in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued Murillo’s first goal should have been ruled out for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort against Manchester City before the national team pause. But the manager conceded the responsibility stopped with him and offered no alibis.
“Nobody wants to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I ought to look at my own role initially and my team, but it demonstrates you how a goal can change the momentum of a match. Before I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Later we hardly created any chances.
“Naturally there is a way out, particularly 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, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is different from questioning yourself.
“I wish to stress I am responsible for the current losses. You are responsible when you are winning but also liable when you are defeated. I can not come up with enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not good enough and I am to blame for that.”
The team's display unravelled as the coach introduced several attacking substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on the Portuguese forward and he scored immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s likely stupid.”
Liverpool last lost two successive home league fixtures by Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back top-flight matches by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing at home, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us creating so much in the opening 30 minutes perhaps the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area they scored.
“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were capable to create opportunities. Lately it is nearly constantly that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we concede go in.”