Arne Slot called Liverpool’s defeat to Nottingham Forest “unbelievable” after watching his side recover from conceding an early goal to win their Champions League opener 3-1 at Milan with a dominant display.
The Reds suffered a surprise first defeat under Slot in any competition as Forest won 1-0 at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday, ending their opponents’ perfect start to the Dutchman’s first season in charge.
“We showed how well we can play on the ball,” Slot told Amazon Prime Sport, speaking on his 46th birthday. “That’s also what I said after the game: if you can play so well, it’s actually almost… the word ‘disgrace’ is too much, but it’s unbelievable that you can lose against Forest at home.”
📰 Table Of Contents
Milan vs Liverpool
Former Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic threatened to spoil Slot’s celebratory mood by giving Milan a third-minute lead from a break at the San Siro, but Ibrahima Konate’s glancing header drew the visitors level 20 minutes later during a half in which Mohamed Salah struck the crossbar twice with shots.
Captain Virgil van Dijk nodded in four minutes before half-time for his first Champions League goal since April 2019 and Dominik Szoboszlai cushioned Cody Gakpo’s cross beyond rookie goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani midway through the second half, sealing an impressive return to form for Slot’s squad.
“It was a great day to celebrate your birthday at a stadium like this – and then to win,” reflected Slot. “I wouldn’t have said this after five minutes, but it went quite well.
“It was great to see how our players took the game in their hands and scored three goals. We felt that with all the work we put in on set pieces, we should be rewarded.
“It got us two goals. We like to press high and be really aggressive but we also like to play out from the back and create chances.”
Liverpool fixtures
Slot first experienced the Champions League last season, winning two games and losing four with former club Feyenoord.
Liverpool are next in action in the competition when Bologna visit Anfield on October 2, followed by a trip to Leipzig three weeks later (both 8pm BST).
They are three points behind early Premier League leaders Manchester City ahead of their home game against Bournemouth on Saturday (3pm).
West Ham are their visitors in the Carabao Cup on September 25 (8pm) before they visit Wolves on September 28 (5.30pm).
