Liverpool’s unraveling took another decisive turn as Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk offered contrasting perspectives on who must shoulder responsibility for the club’s latest collapse—a bruising 3–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, their eighth loss in the last eleven matches across all competitions.

Anfield, already shaken by the heavy loss to Manchester City before the international break, watched in stunned silence as Forest returned to Merseyside and delivered another comprehensive victory.

Murillo, Nicolò Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White swept the night, while £125 million signing Alexander Isak managed only 14 touches in a performance that ranked as his poorest in a Liverpool shirt.

Slot addressed the defeat head-on, insisting the responsibility lies with him.

“If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility,” the Dutchman said. “We weren’t able to create enough. I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out. We were unable to score a goal. You never know in this stadium, if you score a goal, then things can work out.”

A Crisis Shared: Slot Accepts His Share, Van Dijk Demands Collective Accountability

The match featured controversy from the outset, with Forest’s opener surviving a VAR check. Dan Ndoye stood in an offside position near Alisson, but officials ruled he was not impacting the play—a direct contrast to a similar incident two weeks earlier when Van Dijk saw his effort against Manchester City ruled out.

Slot declined to dwell on the debate.

“I don’t know. I heard it wasn’t offside, so if it’s not offside, there’s nothing to debate,” he said. “We created and were waiting for us to score a goal. The set piece changed everything, and they scored two.”

The second-half goal, which arrived almost immediately after the restart, left Liverpool chasing shadows.

“Of course, it was damaging. It was already hard to be 1–0 against a team blocking everything. It’s that simple,” Slot added. “In a few days, we have to play in the Champions League again and then play three Premier League games in a short space. Keep your head up and work incredibly hard. We are trying every single day.”

He emphasized the importance of leadership within the squad.

“It’s always helpful to have experienced and quality players. It’s not working out at this moment.”

But Van Dijk, visibly troubled after the match, made it clear the burden is not Slot’s alone.

“We concede too many easy goals. They scored obviously from a set piece again,” he said. “You can ask if he was in front of Alisson, but it counted, so we’re 1–0 down. We were not good in terms of battles, challenges, the fight, too rushed.”

The Liverpool captain underlined the psychological strain of the slump.

“There was nervousness after we conceded, but not before. We tried to rush things and that’s human when you’re in a difficult moment. It will take a lot of hard work.”

And he insisted every player must reckon with their part in the crisis.

“It’s a problem. Everyone in the team has to take responsibility as well. Football is a team and everyone has to take responsibility. We have to digest this and take it on the chin. We need to work harder. We have to keep going.”

Van Dijk didn’t shy away from the severity of the result.

“Everyone is disappointed, like they should be, because losing at home to Nottingham Forest is, in my eyes, very bad. Those goals we conceded are far too easy and we all have to look in the mirror.”

Still, he held firm on his belief Liverpool will recover.

“We’ve been through adversity. We will bounce back but it doesn’t happen overnight. I’m not a quitter and we will keep going.”

As for supporters leaving early, Van Dijk kept his response measured.

“I can’t decide what the supporters are doing if they leave early. I know the fans have been through thick and thin with us. They will be there with us when we come out of this because we will come out of this.”