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Arne Slot declared he needed to “look at myself” following the Reds endured a sixth defeat in seven Premier League matches on their own turf to Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a solution from the champions’ poor run.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the largest victory at Anfield in their history as Liverpool slipped to an 8th defeat in 11 fixtures in all competitions. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was again unnoticeable and the home side argued the defender's first goal ought to have been disallowed for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort against Manchester City before the national team pause. But Slot conceded the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself initially and my squad, but it demonstrates you how a goal can change the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to net a goal. Later we hardly created any chances.

“Of course there is a path forward, particularly with the talented players we have. Regardless if you triumph or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we adjust?’ but that is something else from doubting yourself.

“I wish to stress I am accountable 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 excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from good enough and I am to blame for that.”

Liverpool’s display unravelled as the coach introduced multiple offensive substitutions when pursuing the match. “It was the identical away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender off and put on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”

Liverpool last lost two successive home Premier League fixtures against Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back league games by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which team you face is a terrible outcome. Unexpected if you look at the first half-hour of the game. I haven’t seen us creating so many chances in the opening 30 minutes maybe the whole season, and the first time they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.

“It wasn’t at City, but in all other game we have been the dominant team and were able to generate chances. Recently it is nearly constantly that we fail to convert our chances and the attempts we concede find the net.”