Liverpool fell short in one key area in their defeat to Nottingham Forest, and it was “not of the standards” that Arne Slot has become used to from his squad.
The Reds’ return from the international break was one to forget. They had enough of the ball – 70 percent, to be exact – but could do little with it.
They created an xG of just 0.87 and managed five shots on target, and it was the inability to make their time in possession count that irked Slot.
In his post-match press conference, he explained: “The only thing we had influence on was ball possession.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three, four quite good chances.
“That’s by far not enough if you have so much possession, if you play so much in their half. We need to be much better.
“We lost the ball so many times in simple situations. That, I think, is the main story from the game; ball possession not good enough.”
He later added: “Too many individual performances in ball possession were not of the standards that I am used to from these players.”
Slot certainly gets to the point, doesn’t he? We certainly do not mind in instances like this.
It is an unnecessary setback for Liverpool after such a bright start, and Slot noted it was compounded by the level of opposition – though is is important to state he meant no disrespect.
“It is a big setback. If you lose a home game, that is always a setback,” the Dutchman said.
“Maybe [Forest] will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but, normally, this team is not ending in the top 10, so if you lose against them it is a big disappointment.
“I want to see the same attitude every single day after a big win, draw or loss. It is just go out to work again tomorrow and analyse what we did well and what we didn’t do well.”
We do not have to wait long for the response as the Reds travel to the San Siro on Tuesday night.
Liverpool 0-1 Forest
