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Arne Slot declared he needed to “examine my own performance” following the Reds suffered a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight games on their own turf to Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a way from the title holders' poor run.

Nottingham Forest, in the relegation zone before kick off, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club slipped to an 8th defeat in 11 matches in all competitions. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and the home side contended the defender's opener should have been ruled out for similar reasons to the captain's disallowed effort against City before the international break. But the manager conceded the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wants to listen to me now speaking about officiating calls if you are defeated 3-0 in your own stadium to Forest,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I should examine my own role initially and my team, but it demonstrates you how a score can alter the momentum of a game. Earlier I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Later we barely generated anything.

“Of course there is a way out, especially with the talented footballers we have. Regardless if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘Where can we improve, where can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.

“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the present defeats. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are losing. I can not provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not good enough and I am responsible for that.”

The team's display unravelled as the coach made multiple attacking substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same away at Nottingham Forest the previous campaign,” he said. “I substituted the French defender out and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net straight away to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, now it’s probably stupid.”

The Anfield side previously were defeated in back-to-back at Anfield league games by Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive top-flight games by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Playing at home, losing 3-0 regardless of which opponent you face is a very, very bad outcome. Surprising if you look at the opening 30 minutes of the game. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the entire campaign, and the initial occasion they entered in our penalty area they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the controlling side and were capable to generate opportunities. Lately it is nearly consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we concede find the net.”