Arne Slot: Liverpool ‘received more than we merited’ in match against Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledges that his team’s performance in the last-minute victory against Nottingham Forest was “the worst we’ve played.”
Slot’s squad struggled significantly at the City Ground, with former captain Jamie Carragher labeling their first-half performance as a “horror show.”
Nevertheless, they secured the three points after Alexis Mac Allister scored deep into stoppage time, just moments after a goal was disallowed by VAR.
Slot recognizes that his team did not merit the three points as they were dominated by Forest, but he felt they were owed some fortune.
“The first half was really poor, the worst we’ve played until now, I think,” the Dutchman stated. “However, the second half was considerably better; we managed the game much more effectively.
“The performance, particularly in the first half, was not up to the standards we’ve set many times this season.
“But we have often found ourselves on the wrong side of the scoreline after a solid performance, and today, I believe we received more than we deserved.
“A draw would have been a more equitable outcome than our victory.”
The match concluded dramatically as Mac Allister found the net in the sixth minute of added time after his previous goal was disallowed in the 89th minute.
Stefan Ortega saved Hugo Ekitike’s header, and as Ola Aina attempted to clear the rebound, it deflected off Mac Allister and into the goal. However, VAR determined that it had struck his elbow, resulting in the goal being disallowed.
“Since VAR has been implemented, I always find it difficult to celebrate too much if I suspect there might be an issue,” Slot remarked. “You never know where a ball will end up after hitting a body. Apparently, it ended up on his arm.
“So it was ruled out. My emotions were, ‘OK, not everything that could have gone against us this season has happened yet. There’s still one more to go.’
“But perhaps luck has shifted, as two or three minutes later, we thought we had scored the winner again. They took a long time to review it, but this time, the referee indicated a kick-off, which meant we won the match.”
Liverpool had to alter their lineup prior to kick-off after Florian Wirtz experienced back pain during the warm-up.
Slot added: “We don’t believe it’s very serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up to start; he wasn’t able to be 100% or even close to it.
“After being in this league for six, seven, or eight months, he now understands that regardless of how skilled you are with the ball, you need to be at full capacity at his level, so we opted not to play him.
“We hope and expect that he will be able to join us again next week, but the outcome is uncertain.”
– VAR review: Analyzing VAR drama for Liverpool’s Mac Allister
– Report: Late Mac Allister goal gives Liverpool win over Forest
The result left new Forest manager Vitor Pereira “angry with football.”
The Portuguese, who was overseeing his first Premier League match since succeeding Sean Dyche at the City Ground, applied pressure and intensity to Liverpool throughout the game.
“I’m frustrated, frustrated inside, angry with football,” Pereira, who saw his new team defeat Fenerbahce 3-0 on Thursday, stated.
“But it’s time to maintain the mentality, to return stronger and with confidence to face the future.
“The score, in my opinion, was very, very unjust, but this is football. We need to carry forward the positive aspects into the next game to rest and prepare everyone.”
