Liverpool head coach Arne Slot admits the Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this season was a watershed moment of his tenure
It is the only blemish on Arne Slot’s Premier League document that in the end have become the problem of a laugh social media memes. And, for the Liverpool boss, it stays an instance of what he genuinely will now no longer permit from his squad.
The Reds go to Nottingham Forest this nighttime aiming to avenge the 1- zero Anfield opposite returned in September that checked early momentum below Slot and gave a primary indication the East Midlands aspect may want to emerge as a pressure this season below Nuno Espirito Santo.Taking into consideration Slot’s document throughout the primary 1/2 of of 2024 with former membership Feyenoord, it became additionally the most effective recreation wherein he suffered a defeat throughout the calendar year. And the Liverpool head teach hasn’t been capable of forget.I simply do not wipe it from my memory,” he admits. “There had been now no longer that many stuff that we did properly throughout that recreation .
What I by and large disliked became the reality withinside the ultimate 20-25 mins I did not see some thing happening.So matters can cross in opposition to you in a recreation however then you definitely need to peer some gamers stepping up and saying, ‘ sufficient is sufficient , we don’t play our first-rate recreation however then we perhaps must be greater competitive and win some duels, dash some instances extra’. I became by and large involved that that didn’t manifest in that recreation .
“It isn’t 100% certain it’ll in no way manifest once more however what I instructed the gamers is that it doesn’t match me. At Feyenoord while these items befell I continually had gamers who stepped up. And I stated to them this likely doesn’t suit your needs men as properly due to the fact with Jurgen (Klopp) you continually got here returned .”The proper component is that became additionally the most effective recreation wherein that befell due to the fact we recognize in current video games on every occasion we went in the back of we did positioned our foot at the fueloline and that’s what we didn’t do in that recreation . It is a recreation we’ve discovered from due to the fact afterwards I noticed a distinctive mind-set in all of the different video games while we had been 1- zero in the back of and there had been 20-25 mins left.”
Slot adds: “I do don’t forget from that recreation that I made one or substitutions and I performed Trent (Alexander-Arnold) as a midfielder for the primary time as properly . It became additionally in a time frame once I nonetheless needed to analyze what became the first-rate for this group .
“Later on in opposition to Fulham once I made some of these offensive modifications human beings stated this is great however after the Forest recreation I do not suppose human beings idea it became great to play Trent as a midfielder! It became additionally for me a mastering second approximately what works and doesn’t work.”Forest had been the marvel bundle of the Premier League season having flirted with relegation the ultimate campaigns. They stand degree on factors with second- positioned Arsenal after six successive league wins, the pair six factors in the back of leaders Liverpool having performed a recreation moreSlot two times competed for the Eredivisie identify in Holland throughout his time in price at unfancied AZ Alkmaar. But the Liverpool boss has disregarded similarities with Forest, pointing to their internet spend in extra of £200million in view that returning to the Premier League withinside the summer time season of 2022, a total £50m greater than Liverpool’s throughout the equal duration albeit with the Reds working from a far more potent beginning point.
“I do not suppose you could examine it absolutely as AZ has continually been a membership that has ended up third, fourth, 5th withinside the league,” says Slot. “If I’m correct, I do not suppose Forest withinside the ultimate 10 seasons ended third, fourth or 5th .
“What I perhaps underestimated became their spending. They have spent extra cash than us withinside the ultimate 3 years. In the end, you could see at (Manchester) United wherein human beings stated they spent a variety of cash and that they do not have proper gamers , now all of a surprising they have got proper gamers .You recognize in case you spend a lot cash you may have proper gamers , and then you definitely want a supervisor who brings that out of them. That is what Nuno is doing excellent on the second .
“It’s nonetheless an incredible accomplishment for them to be pinnacle 3 on the second , however in case you have a take a observe the quantity of cash they have got spent it isn’t a whole marvel that they’ve a higher season now than or 3 years ago. That’s the distinction among AZ as we did not spend cash returned then.”
Darwin Nunez, who secured Liverpool’s first league win at Forest in view that 1984 with a dramatic past due winner ultimate season, is suspended this nighttime and Joe Gomez stays hamstrung for numerous greater weeks. But Slot in any other case has a full- power squad from which to choose, with the Reds boss probable to make as many as 10 modifications from the group that beat Accrington Stanley 4- zero withinside the FA Cup at Anfield on Saturday.And he has disregarded claims his group are displaying symptoms and symptoms of nerves and are faltering have did not win their ultimate video games in opposition to Premier League opposition, a 2-2 domestic league draw with Manchester United observed with the aid of using a 1- zero League Cup semi- very last first leg defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
“Those will be the individuals who most effective have a take a observe the end result , now no longer the performance,” he says. “If you have a take a observe the performance ( in opposition to Tottenham), I did not see many various things as compared to different video games .
“I suppose after what we noticed on Sunday (United received at Arsenal withinside the FA Cup) our end result in opposition to United may not also be one of these abnormal end result anymore due to the fact you may see how an awful lot exceptional they have got and it’s far a group going up. We did not play in opposition to 10 men (like Arsenal), we performed in opposition to eleven and that makes it even harder.