Liverpool recorded their sixth loss of the 12-game-old Premier League season in a disheartening 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Murillo, Nicolo Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White administered the hammer blows for the visitors, in only their third victory in this campaign.
Arne Slot’s side slipped into the bottom half of the table with the result, eight points off league leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand, seemingly ending the Merseysiders’ hopes of retaining their title.
Arne Slot avoids blaming opponents for Liverpool's woes, almost
The Dutch head coach has been criticised in recent weeks for his response to the side’s poor form, blaming opponents for setting up differently against the current title holders.
In a game that saw Liverpool register a whopping 74 per cent possession, the suspicion was that Slot might slip into his familiar routine.
However, the Liverpool boss appeared keen to put that attitude behind him and own up to his mistakes, even refusing to debate the Reds’ calls for offside in one of Forest’s goals.
“If things go well or things go badly, it’s my responsibility,” Slot told BBC MOTD after the game. “We weren’t able to create enough.
“I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out.”
So far, so apologetic. But the Dutchman couldn’t resist a slight dig at Sean Dyche’s side when asked about conceding the second early in the second half.
“Of course, it was damaging,” Slot said. “It was already hard to be 1-0 against a team blocking everything.”
Slot appears to be, slowly, moving away from his habit of blaming his opponents for his own team’s problems and, in FourFourTwo’s opinion, the quicker he sheds that attitude altogether, the better.
It isn’t his opponent’s responsibility to make games easier for Liverpool, regardless of how they play, and he’ll curry no favour with fans with such an approach.
As he started his interview here, taking responsibility and explaining how he intends to fix things will always be the best approach.
Liverpool next face PSV, when Champions League actions returns next week.
