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Arne Slot declared he needed to “look at myself” after the Reds suffered a 6th defeat in 7 English top-flight games on their own turf to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would discover a way out of the title holders' slump.

Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, produced the largest victory at Anfield in their history as Liverpool slipped to an 8th defeat in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The most expensive domestic acquisition, the Swedish striker, was again anonymous and Liverpool contended Murillo’s opener should have been disallowed for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City before the national team pause. But Slot admitted the responsibility rested with him and offered no alibis.

“No one wants to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at my own role initially and my squad, but it does show you how a score can change the flow of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to score a goal. Later we barely generated any chances.

“Of course there is a way out, especially with the talented footballers we have. No matter if you win or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we improve, in what aspects can we make changes?’ but that is something else from doubting your abilities.

“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the present losses. You are answerable when you are victorious but also liable when you are losing. I can never provide enough reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”

Liverpool’s display unravelled as Slot made multiple attacking changes when chasing the game. “It was the identical away at Forest last season,” he said. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and brought on [Diogo] Jota and he found the net immediately to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”

Liverpool previously were defeated in two successive at Anfield league games by Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they suffered back-to-back top-flight games by a three-goal scoreline was in the mid-60s.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Competing on home soil, losing 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a terrible result. Surprising if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us producing so much in the opening half-hour perhaps the whole campaign, and the initial occasion they arrived in our penalty area 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 able to create chances. Lately it is almost constantly that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we allow find the net.”