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Arne Slot declared he had to “examine my own performance” following the Reds endured a 6th defeat in seven Premier League games at home to Nottingham Forest and insisted he would discover a solution out of the champions’ slump.

Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, produced the largest win at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th loss in eleven matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was once more anonymous and Liverpool argued the defender's first goal should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort versus Manchester City prior to the national team pause. But Slot conceded the responsibility stopped with him and made no excuses.

“No one wants to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself 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 barely created any chances.

“Naturally there is a path forward, particularly with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘Where can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting yourself.

“I want to stress I am responsible for the present defeats. You are responsible when you are victorious but also liable when you are defeated. I can not come up with enough excuses for us to have the results we have. That is far from acceptable and I am to blame for that.”

The team's performance unravelled as the coach made several attacking changes when pursuing the game. “It was the same away at Forest last season,” he remarked. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side previously were defeated in back-to-back at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive league matches by a 3-0 margin was in the mid-60s.

The manager said: “It was very bad. Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a very, very bad outcome. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the match. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the entire campaign, and the first time they entered in our box they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen at City, but in every other game we have been the controlling side and were capable to create opportunities. Recently it is nearly consistently that we miss our chances and the ones we allow find the net.”