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Arne Slot declared he had to “examine my own performance” following Liverpool endured a 6th loss in 7 Premier League games on their own turf to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution out of the champions’ poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their club records as Liverpool fell to an 8th defeat in eleven fixtures in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, Alexander Isak, was again unnoticeable and the home side contended the defender's first goal should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the international break. But Slot conceded the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine my own role initially and my team, but it does show you how a score can change the flow of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we hardly created anything.

“Naturally there is a path forward, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you win or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is something else from questioning your abilities.

“I wish to emphasise I am accountable for the current losses. You are responsible when you are victorious but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never come up with sufficient excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from acceptable and I am to blame for that.”

Liverpool’s display unravelled as the coach made multiple attacking changes when pursuing the match. “It was the same away at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net straight away to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was courageous, currently it’s likely stupid.”

Liverpool last lost two successive at Anfield Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The most recent occasion they lost back-to-back league matches by a three-goal scoreline was in 1965.

The manager said: “It was very bad. Competing at home, losing 3-0 regardless of which team you encounter is a very, very bad result. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so much in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived 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 dominant side and were capable to create chances. Recently it is nearly constantly that we miss our opportunities and the ones we allow find the net.”