Slot Admits Lucky Escape as Liverpool Grind Past Nottingham Forest
Honest Words Reveal Tight Margins
Football managers rarely volunteer confessions, particularly after victory, yet Arne Slot did just that after Liverpool edged past Nottingham Forest. In comments carried by the original source from his post-match press conference, Slot did not dress it up. “My emotions were emotions of happiness and relief,” he admitted, before adding that his side “did not play a good game” and that “a draw would have been a fairer result of this game than for us to win it.”
There was something refreshing in that. At a time when touchline rhetoric is choreographed and rehearsed, Slot simply told the truth. Liverpool had escaped, perhaps even stolen three points, and their manager knew it. In the modern Premier League – where margins are thinner than a bookmaker’s edge on one of your Kelly-staking spreadsheets – luck still matters.
VAR Drama Adds Twist
The match itself was wrapped in VAR uncertainty. Slot described the chaos with unusual candour. “Since VAR is there, I always struggle to celebrate too much if I think, ‘There might be something going on.’ You never know if a ball has hit the body where it ended up.”
He was referring to a disallowed effort after Hugo Ekitike had missed an earlier chance from a Rio Ngumoha cross. It went in, celebrations began, then came the familiar freeze-frame autopsy. Handball, decision overturned, Liverpool denied.
Moments later, fortune swung. Another late effort stood after a long check, and the referee pointed to the centre circle. Liverpool had won. Slot laughed about it, but his meaning was serious: “Still not everything that could have gone against us this season has happened yet. Still one more to go.”
If ever a manager described football’s absurdity, that was it.
Nottingham Forest Deserve Credit
It should not be forgotten that Nottingham Forest were no passive victims. Under Vítor Pereira, they have become organised, disciplined, and awkward opponents. They pressed in waves, cut off passing lanes and made Liverpool uncomfortable in possession. Their supporters left the ground knowing their team had matched one of the league’s heavyweights.
Slot acknowledged that reality. Liverpool’s first-half display, he said, “was not as we’ve had so many times this season.” For a side chasing titles and fighting on multiple fronts, such honesty matters. Great teams often win when they play poorly, but they do not pretend otherwise.
Forest’s tactical structure deserves praise. Their back line stayed compact, midfield lines were tight, and they forced Liverpool wide into hopeful crosses rather than clean cut-backs. It was the kind of performance you might remember from the old City Ground nights when giants were humbled.
Champions League Qualification
Winning ugly is still winning. Points earned in February count the same as those earned in April. Slot knows that, even if he felt uncomfortable about how they were achieved.
For analysts tracking Liverpool’s season – whether through FotMob dashboards or Anfield Index podcasts – this match will register as an anomaly. Low chance creation, poor control, late goal. Yet those anomalies often define champions.
Slot’s admission of being lucky does not weaken Liverpool’s case; it strengthens it. It shows a manager grounded enough to recognise when fortune intervenes, and honest enough to say so.
In the end, Nottingham Forest played well, Liverpool were fortunate, and football once again proved that justice is not guaranteed on the pitch. Sometimes, luck wears red.