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Arne Slot stated he had to “look at myself” after the Reds suffered a 6th loss in 7 Premier League matches at home against Forest and affirmed he would find a way out of the title holders' slump.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, delivered the biggest win at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth defeat in eleven fixtures in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more anonymous and the home side argued the defender's opener should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to the captain's disallowed effort against City prior to the international break. But Slot admitted the buck rested with him and made no excuses.

“No one wishes to hear me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I ought to look at myself initially and my squad, but it does show you how a goal can alter the flow of a game. Before I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Afterwards we barely generated any chances.

“Naturally there is a way out, especially with the quality footballers we have. Regardless if you triumph or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is different from doubting your abilities.

“I want to stress I am responsible for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are victorious but also responsible when you are losing. I can never come up with sufficient reasons for us to have the results we have. That is far from good enough and I am responsible for that.”

The team's performance unravelled as Slot made several attacking substitutions when chasing the game. “It was the same on the road at Forest last season,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he scored immediately to equalize at 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably stupid.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive home league games against Forest in the sixties. The last time they lost back-to-back top-flight matches by a three-goal margin was in the mid-60s.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 no matter which team you face is a very, very bad result. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the opening half-hour maybe the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our box they scored.

“It did not happen at City, but in all other fixture we have been the dominant side and were able to generate opportunities. Recently it is nearly consistently that we miss our opportunities and the attempts we allow go in.”