Richard Keys contends that Arne Slot misjudged Nottingham Forest during the weekend, a mistake that previous Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would not have made.
The Dutchman, who succeeded Klopp in the summer, had his inaugural setback since assuming the managerial position at Anfield as the Reds suffered an unexpected 1-0 loss to Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.
Liverpool fielded the identical starting eleven that triumphed over Manchester United 3-0 before the international break, despite their prior international commitments.
Keys believes that this indicated a lack of discernment on Slot’s part, since his predecessor would have been more astute. In his blog, Keys stated: “It has been proposed that Slot erred by selecting 11 starters who had participated in international duty.” If that were an error, I doubt Klopp would have committed it. He have a superior understanding of our league compared to Slot.
“For the record, Forest initiated the participation of only three individuals who had been absent.” In Holland, one would likely evade consequences similar to those faced by Slot. The intensity is somewhat milder in the Eredivisie. In our league, there is no refuge. It is consistently occupied each week. I believe Slot will acquire that knowledge, and we have to provide him time; but, this weekend, Slotball was unsuccessful.
Klopp has expressed concerns with fixture congestion throughout his tenure, especially after international vacations. The German served as the leader for nine years before resigning at the conclusion of the previous season.
Slot refuted the notion that the international break contributed to Liverpool’s unexpected defeat, stating: “It’s always difficult, but I don’t believe [the break] had any impact.” The players returned with vigour, and I observed a squad today that was determined to persevere to the conclusion. That was unrelated to energy. We maintained significant ball possession and needed to generate opportunities from it.Thus far, we have scored several goals from transitional periods following ball recovery; nevertheless, the other team (Forest) frequently bypassed our press with numerous long passes. We predominantly retained possession in our defensive line.
“Today’s performance was inadequate due to numerous individual displays in ball possession failing to meet the standards I expect from these players.”
Liverpool has an opportunity to react as they visit AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night, followed by a home match against Bournemouth in the Premier League over the weekend.
