Liverpool head coach Arne Slot admits his first defeat – a shock 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest – is “a big setback”.
After three victories without conceding his side laboured for 72 minutes before Callum Hudson-Odoi’s strike secured the visitors’ first win at Anfield since 1969.
“It is a big setback. If you lose a home game that’s always a setback,” Slot said.
“Normally this team isn’t ending up in top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment, although they were organised and structured really well today.
“The only thing we had influence on was ball possession because they played a lot of long balls, so if you then take the ball back you need to go past 11 players.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three or four quite good chances. That’s by far not enough.
“If you have so much possession and play so much in their half we need to be much better, we lost the ball so many times in simple situations.
“That’s the main story from the game – ball possession was not good enough.”
This was Slot’s first match after an international break and it appeared to show as passes went astray with alarming regularity, the connections built up previously becoming severed quite quickly.
Liverpool had 10 players who played the full 90 minutes in both games for their international teams and the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz travelled back from South America.
However, that is not out of the ordinary and Slot did not look to find excuses.
“It’s always difficult, but I don’t think it had anything to do with it,” he added.
“Players came back strong and I saw today a team that wanted to fight until the end. That wasn’t to do with energy.
“If you look at the goals we scored until now, we scored quite a few from transition moments from winning the ball back, but the other team (Forest) played over our press a lot with a lot of long balls.
“It wasn’t good enough today because too many individual performances in ball possession were not up to the standards that I’m used to from these players.”
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was understandably delighted with the result, especially as the club had taken just five points from their previous 25 visits to Anfield.
“Many of our fans today in the stadium were not even born (the last time they won) so that says how hard it is,” he said.
“I’m very happy and proud of the work of the players, they worked very hard.
“Overall, we knew how hard the game was going to be. It is all about taking your chances.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Nuno and his 2nd manager of the month award milk Mbappe We're so back Bookies headquarters after the AC Milan red card Man City fans at HT vs Man City fans at FT "What a week, huh?""Gaffer, it's Wednesday." Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, FootballLaughss)...
Neymar has confirmed he will return to his boyhood club, Santos, as he looks to recover from an ACL injury that has heavily disrupted his career in recent seasons.In an emotive post on Instagram, Neymar said that re-joining the Sao Paulo-based side that he left for Barcelona in 2013 was "like going back in time," describing it as the perfect place to regain his form and fitness."Only a club like S...
Aston Villa's Jhon Duran is expected to fly to the Gulf state on Friday to complete a £64m move to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Riyadh.Al-Nassr are interested in signing Mateo KovacicJhon Duran is expected to complete a £64m move to the clubBrighton's Kaoru Mitoma is also a target of the Saudi sideThe Saudi Pro League side also lodged a £54m bid for Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma.Brighton rej...
Tottenham Hotspur have had a €60 million ($62.5m) offer accepted by Bayern Munich on Thursday for their French forward Mathys Tel, sources have told ESPN.Tel, 19, has decided to leave the German side and is attracting a lot of interest from English clubs.Bayern wanted €60m for the France under-21 international and Spurs have become the first team to agree a deal with the Bavarian giant...
Ramos in advanced talks over free transfer to Mexican clubFormer Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is reportedly in discussions with Mexican club Monterrey regarding a possible transfer.Dorgu to complete €35m Man Utd move as medical scheduledLecce star Patrick Dorgu is reportedly set to fly to England ahead of a medical and a €35 million move to Manchester United.Neymar sends emotional ...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Amara Nallo Debut Bournemouth this season (LIV next) true 18 matches at once, it's just too much. Speed describing how Ronaldo smells like in his stream:"You could smell his aura. He smells like a GOAT." lol Juventus Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Just toon it, trollfootball, The Football Arena, AZR Organization)...
Manchester United have plenty of business to tie up before Monday’s transfer deadline, with Patrick Dorgu closing in on a move to Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford appears to be heading for the exit after facing the wrath of Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim, while Alejandro Garnacho could also be set to depart.Chelsea are in the mix for new signings and could rival Napoli for Garnacho. The Blues are...
Marcus Rashford could be at the center of a deadline-day transfer as Manchester United have made him available. Man Utd star Rashford could be set for a deadline day move as the window comes to a closeUnited are asking for £40M for Rashford but are also open to a loan deal, per The Sun. European clubs, including Barcelona, have shown interest, but his £325,000-a-week wages have been a si...
Chelsea’s pursuit of Alejandro Garnacho could be a last-minute scramble late into the winter window – but the club have a contingency plan in place should the Blues fail to secure a Manchester United winger before the transfer deadline, according to reports.The Argentine forward could still leave Old Trafford before February 3, when the window closes, with the club willing to sell him ...
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said he does not want Ollie Watkins to leave the club amid interest from Arsenal, but said if Jhon Durán completes his move to Al Nassr then it is "good news" for the club as it shows they are doing the right things in terms of developing players.Emery was speaking after Aston Villa secured their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League following a 4-...
- 1 Kerkez and £83m ace join as Salah signs
- 2 Enzo 'trying to fix romance with childhood sweetheart'
- 3 'exciting' Betis on signing Man Utd flop
- 4 Napoli confirm Garnacho interest
- 5 Kyle Walker’s wife in talks with ITV for HUGE reality show
- 6 Ashley Cole, wife Sharon, Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy on luxury skiing holiday
- 7 Meet Jude Bellingham's new model WAG
- 8 Atletico Madrid in talks for Arsenal Zinchenko
- 9 LaLiga ace Alex Berenguer & model wife ‘have gun pointed at them’
- 10 Transfer news and rumours LIVE