Liverpool suffered a disappointing home defeat at Anfield as they were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest. The game against Nottingham was a great opportunity for the Dutchman to become the first Liverpool manager to start a reign with four consecutive wins and a clean sheet. However, the visitors made history by winning at Anfield for the first time since 1969.
In Jurgen Klopp's final two seasons, Liverpool lost just one Premier League home game each season. They didn't even lose a game in 2021-22. However, Slot suffered a defeat in just his second home game.
Liverpool had a lackluster performance with many stars such as Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah playing below their best. The familiar, sharp style of play of The Kop seemed to disappear. Nottingham proactively blocked the home team's midfield with a strategy of concentrating a large number of players in the central area. This made it difficult for Liverpool to progress the ball and create opportunities.
Nuno Espirito Santo's tactic was a 4-3-2-1 formation with a tight formation, limiting Liverpool's attacking options. The Portuguese coach even decided to leave key attacking players on the bench and only bring them on after he had controlled the opponent's play. This decision paid off with Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring the only goal.
While Nuno Santo made decisive changes from the bench, Arne Slot failed to make a difference for his team. Liverpool lost their confidence and top form when Slot was forced to change tactics. He made three major changes in the 60th minute, replacing Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister, and pushing Alexander-Arnold into midfield. However, these decisions did not work.
In fact, Liverpool’s clearest chances came from their opponents’ mistakes. Luis Diaz stole the ball and fired against the post. Nottingham goalkeeper Matz Sels then made a careless move as the ball almost crossed the line after Diaz’s header. The visitors’ goalkeeper also made a number of excellent saves to deny the Red Brigade’s attack.
One of Liverpool's major weaknesses in this match was their lack of control and defensive counter-attacking ability. After Mac Allister left the pitch, Slot's team became vulnerable to the opponent's quick counter-attacks. Elanga had two dangerous shots but failed to score. Unlike the matches under Jurgen Klopp, this time the Anfield team could not create a familiar comeback.
Liverpool’s problems started right from the lineup. Arne Slot continued to keep the same lineup for 3 consecutive matches. This could leave his team lacking vitality, especially when many players have just returned from international training. Notably, Federico Chiesa is still not on the squad after 3 matches. This leaves Liverpool lacking an attacking option.
This defeat has exposed many problems for Liverpool under Arne Slot. Although he has a good foundation from his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, The Kop still have a lot of work to do to maintain a stable performance. This is the first lesson the Dutchman has faced and he needs to quickly find a way to overcome his limitations.
