Arne Slot sent 'rattled' message as Liverpool boss still ranting about Nottingham Forest defeat

Nottingham Forest appear to have got under the skin of Liverpool boss Arne Slot with their victory at Anfield

Nottingham Forest appear to have done more than just extend their own unbeaten start to the Premier League season with Saturday’s victory over Liverpool.

By claiming the three points at Anfield they also seem to have got right under the skin of Arne Slot. The Dutchman has shown signs of being rattled by his team’s defeat at the weekend after his 100 percent record was brought to an end.

Callum Hudson-Odoi came off the bench to net the only goal of the game on Merseyside. His stunning strike secured the three points, but it was a brilliant team effort by Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

A few days further down the line and it appears the defeat still rankles for new Anfield boss Slot. He hasn’t stopped talking about it.

After his team bounced back from losing to Forest by beating AC Milan 3-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday, Slot told Amazon Prime: “We showed how good we can play on the ball, and that’s also what I said after the game. If you can play so good it’s actually almost, maybe if I use the word disgrace it is too much, but it’s unbelievable that you lose against Forest at home if you can play this well today.”

Slot’s post-match comments came after he had also referenced the Reds in his pre-match press conference. Ahead of the midweek clash, he had said: “Not only the journalists were disappointed about the result from us against Nottingham Forest; the team and me were really disappointed as well. We always put it in the right perspective because when we beat (Manchester) United the journalists and us were really positive, of course. But I also saw things we had to improve.

“Last Saturday, we didn’t do as many things good as we did against United. We still did a few things quite well, but it was a completely different game.

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“I expect a completely different game against Milan with the type of players they have and the playing style the manager has compared to Nottingham Forest. We should be disappointed if you lose a home game to Nottingham Forest and you work for Liverpool. If you’re not disappointed if you drop points in a home game against Nottingham Forest then something is wrong.”

When he spoke after the final whistle at the weekend, Slot had described the loss as a “setback”. He had said: “If you lose a home game that’s always a setback. Normally this team (Forest) isn’t ending up in top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment, although they were organised and structured really well.

“The only thing we had influence on was ball possession because they played a lot of long balls, so if you then take the ball back you need to go past 11 players. We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three or four quite good chances. That’s by far not enough.”

Forest fans have been quick to note Slot’s irritation over their team’s triumph. One quipped on X: “Arne Slot must always be referred to as Arne Salt going forward.”

Another said: “Rent free. Fair play Nuno.”

“Love it! Completely rattled. Looking forward to a further three points back at the City Ground,” said another.

One fan joked: “Thought the term was ‘Flying Dutchman’. Turns out Arne slot is ‘the crying Dutchman’.”

Another supporter said: “How about he gives us an ounce of credit for outplaying them. How about he admits Nuno got his tactics spot on. Nullified their attack, kept it at 0-0 and brought our two wingers on to win the game.”

What do you make of Slot's comments about Forest? Click HERE to have your say