- Liverpool beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest
- Arne Slot loses for first time as Reds head coach
- Dutchman didn't shy away from surprising nature of defeat
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot bemoaned his side's lack of chance creation in Saturday's 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest.
Slot tasted defeat for the first time as Reds boss, with his men falling at home to Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Callum Hudson-Odoi came off the bench to score the only goal of a game in which the hosts dominated possession, but were unable to turn that territorial advantage into meaningful opportunities.
Liverpool were in formidable form prior to the international break, keeping clean sheets in all three of their wins, including a memorable 3-0 thrashing of rivals Manchester United.
But Slot has admitted this blow will hit his side hard.
When asked if this is a major setback to Liverpool's 'process', the Dutchman replied: "Not to the process, but it is a big setback
"If you lose a home game it's always a setback, especially if you face a team...we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment. Although, they were organised and structured really well today.
"I want to see the same attitude every single day: after a big win, after a small win, after a draw, after a loss. It is just to go out to work again tomorrow, analyse what we did well and what we didn't do well.
Forest would no doubt have arrived at Anfield hoping that the hosts' momentum had been stunted by an unwanted international break, and that certainly seemed to be the case across a disjointed first-half performance.
In part thanks to the visitors' physicality and discipline, the Reds looked short of their usual rhythm for long spells, though that did not entirely stop them from creating some presentable chances.
The first of those saw Luis Diaz hit the post from close range after picking Ola Aina's pocket on the touchline.
Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister then spurned good headed opportunities either side of Diogo Jota failing to properly catch a volley inside the box
However, the half-time break arrived with Liverpool having failed to find the breakthrough, and Forest deservedly level thanks to an impressive defensive effort.
The Reds looked like they might be ready to spark into life after half-time when Mohamed Salah twisted and turned before forcing a save with a right-footed effort.
But they did not build on that early threat, with Forest instead showing promise on the break as Morgan Gibbs-White struck wide and Anthony Elanga thrashed over.
As such, it was little surprise when the visitors did eventually make a counter pay, Hudson-Odoi cutting in before brilliantly nestling a low effort in the far corner.
Slot attempted to throw everything at it from there, turning to his substitutes' bench in a bid to change things.
But Forest never looked anything other than comfortable as they saw out their first Anfield victory since 1969.
