Liverpool manager Arne Slot takes blame for poor form as 'never enough excuses' can explain Premier League losses

A humbling home defeat against Nottingham Forest has turned up the scrutiny on Arne Slot and his Liverpool team look for ways to save their season, having dropped to 11th in the Premier League. They have faired better so far in the UEFA Champions League and can make it four wins from five matches when they take on PSV Eindhoven at Anfield, in a match you can watch on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admits his team’s poor form has left him questioning where things are going wrong at Anfield this season.

A humbling 3-0 Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday was their sixth loss in seven top flight matches, which has left the champions in 11th place in the table.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Slot said: "How is this possible with so much quality available that I cannot find a winning way with my team?"

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"When you’re a professional, you know this is part of your life but you don’t expect it to be part of your life if you are Liverpool manager to be losing so many times.

"Everybody is surprised, including me. If you win the league, of course we’ve made a few changes, but we’ve also made a few changes where I thought, we thought, but I was the first one who thought that we would benefit from. 

"[We’ve] made some great signings. Players that stayed behind have been so important for us. Then you don’t expect to go into a run of games that we have been in. 

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"Even if we hadn’t made a signing or all the players had left, you don’t expect Liverpool to lose in the Premier League six out of seven times.

"There are never enough excuses for me to explain what has happened. That is also what makes it difficult for me because I’m the type of person who likes to explain things. If you can explain things you can find a solution for things."

After their defeat against Forest, captain Virgil van Dijk was angry with his team for letting Slot down with their below-par performances. However, the Liverpool boss is keen not to pass blame around.

"We are in a team sport. So I feel that I let the players down," Slot said.

"In the end, it’s my responsibility and if players aren’t performing to the standards I expect them to, they expect them to themselves, our fans and everybody around the world expects them to, then it’s my responsibility because I need to make sure they can perform to their standards which at this moment of time, for large parts of the game in my opinion, still do."

Liverpool have the chance to bounce back from their latest defeat by building on their positive start in this season’s UEFA Champions League.

While domestic results have been alarming, three wins from four matches in Europe’s top competition has provided a shred of optimism for everyone at Anfield.

Slot does not want his players to dwell on their poor form but instead focus on turning things around.

That starts against PSV Eindhoven at Anfield on Wednesday night, in a match you can watch on TNT Sports and discovery+.

"I don’t think this is a moment about learning from the past, it’s looking forward. I want to play with a team that is doing all the things we did last season," Slot said.

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"I’ve seen a lot of similar things but there are one or two details and these details have cost us a lot, that are different to last season.

"One of those details is that last season, until this moment of time, we didn’t concede one set-piece at all and now we’ve conceded nine [in the Premier League].

"Generally speaking, it’s still a team that has the ball a lot, it’s still a team that generates enough chances, but it’s also a team that again - I’m responsible for that - concedes far too many goals.

"It feels as if we are close to going to different results but doing the simple things right is maybe harder than I thought it was."

Gakpo confident 'beautiful moments' will return

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo is confident brighter times are on the horizon at Anfield and he insists the players at the club are desperate to put things right for the club’s supporters.

"At the end, the moment the lesser moments are passing away, even more beautiful moments will arise so we can learn a lot from this period but hopefully it will not take that long," Gakpo told TNT Sports.

Gakpo has scored just twice at home this season but denies feeling the pressure of needing to deliver on a regular basis at Anfield.

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"Not really an extra pressure but we know how we should perform, especially in front of our own fans. [It is] what they deserve," he said.

"Even when we were down against Forest, they stayed in the stadium supporting us so we owe them a lot. We are aware of that fact. 

"We will go out there again and show them what we think they deserve and they deserve the best.

"We will fight for them. We will fight for the club, for ourselves. Then, everyone is sure we will be back at our level again."

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