Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool's defeat at Nottingham Forest was inexplicable as he condemned the finishing by his players at the City Ground.
After back-to-back 1-0 wins over Manchester City and West Ham in the Premier League, Liverpool went down by the same scoreline on Saturday, with former Anfield reserve Taiwo Awoniyi getting the only goal.
Klopp pointed the finger of blame at Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk for spurning great chances, as the Merseyside club lost to a team who began the day at the foot of the table.
A third league loss in their opening 11 games was a jolt for a Liverpool team who had been looking to close an early-season gap to the top four.
"The performance I can kind of explain, the result not," Klopp told BT Sport. "I never saw a game where one team has four or five no-brainers from a set-piece, where we have to finish it off.
"The way they defend, we were perfectly prepared for that. We had always a free player: Bobby in the first half, Virgil two or three times – they have to put the game to bed."
Forest's goal also came from a free-kick, with Awoniyi firing in from close range after Liverpool gave away the set-piece near the halfway line, described as "a big mistake" from his players by Klopp.
"Apart from that, all the chances they had we gave them, because we kept playing the wrong passes in the centre," Klopp said.
"Result-wise, we should have showed consistency today. Result-wise, we could have had it by finishing the situations off."
Regarding Forest, Klopp was frugal in his appreciation, saying: "Giving a team six clear-cut chances after a set-piece, I am not sure where I should put the praise on.
"They're a great team and Steve [Cooper] is a fantastic manager, but for us we had to win here. We didn't, so credit to him and Nottingham.
"In the situations, it was us against the goalie or us against ourselves, and not us against Nottingham Forest, because nobody defended Bobby in these moments and nobody defended Virgil in these moments.
"They were just free, but we didn't use it, so if we used all of them you would be asking a different question."
Match-winner Awonyi revelled in giving Forest a second league win of the campaign.
He said: "I think it's a good game for my team. We had a plan to play compact and at the end to find a way to get a goal. At the end we won and I'm very happy about it.
"I'm honoured to get a game against Liverpool because they brought me to football. They signed me when I was 18. It was an emotional game for me. As a team we stick together as our own family, and we have to thank the fans. We just have to keep on going."
Man of the match Ryan Yates, a key figure in Forest's midfield, said: "It's what we needed. We've been putting in good performances in recent weeks and not been getting the results we wanted, but we thoroughly deserved that today.
"It's got to be [a turning point]. We've got to build on this. If we can beat Liverpool, we can beat anyone."
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.
City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.
“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game
“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.
“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.
“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.
“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”
The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.
Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.
“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.
“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.
“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”
Gakpo feels 'more dangerous' for Liverpool under Slot
Cody Gakpo believes he has become a more "dangerous" player after returning to his preferred left-wing role under new Liverpool boss, Arne Slot.
Gakpo, who joined the Reds in January 2023, was often deployed in a central striker role under Jurgen Klopp during his first 18 months at Anfield.
Across his 53 appearances for Liverpool last season, 27 came as a centre forward, with the remaining 26 coming on either flank or in the attacking midfield position.
The Dutchman, however, has registered eight goal contributions (six goals, two assists) in 17 appearances in all competitions this season, all but one of which has come from the left wing.
Gakpo has found the net four times in his last four outings for the Reds, which included a brace against Brighton in the EFL Cup to propel them into the quarter-finals.
Speaking about the switch, he told Men in Blazers: “Before I came to Liverpool I also played as a left-winger. Then I came here, and I started to play more as a central striker.
“At the Euros, I played as a left-winger again. Then this season the new manager came in. I had a talk with him, and he said, ‘You have to focus on the left-winger position.
"This is your position when you come on or when you start.’ Because he said there’s a lot of competition here, so you just have to show yourself. But he said, ‘That is going to be your position.’
“It felt a little bit, for me, like the old me, like what I did at PSV [Eindhoven] as well. I feel really good in this position. I try to show my best to everybody, what I’m capable of.
“I think I come into more one-v-ones now with my face towards the opponent, where I can really go inside and give a cross, shoot or go outside and give a cross – which is more my game, I would say, and where I think I can be really dangerous and help the team the most.”
Liverpool have enjoyed a fine start to the season, sitting top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables heading into the November international break.
Slot has earned 28 points from his first 11 top-flight games in charge (W9 D1 L1), the joint-most by a manager after as many games in the competition along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
The Reds also remain the only side with a 100% record in the Champions League and have edged closer to defending their EFL Cup crown this season.
And Gakpo, who played a part in the Reds' win over Chelsea in the final of that competition last year, is eager for that fighting spirit to help bring more success to the club.
“I see those [as] separate,” he said. “When I’m on the pitch, [I’m] really there to win the game, to show my quality," Gakpo said.
“I think one of my qualities is going inside and going for a goal or maybe going for an assist. As an attacking player, I think that’s also part of the job.
“Outside of the pitch, I tend to be a different guy – it’s more about life and development, mental growth, health growth with family, with friends.
"I just try to be myself and I’m very happy that people speak so nicely of me, so thank you everybody!
“Obviously when you come on the pitch, it’s game on. You have to think a little bit different – maybe not that nice in some ways because you have to win.
"But for me, it will never be personal. Out there, [I’m] just trying to do my best for the club and to win these games for the fans, for myself, for the team.
"When the referee blows the last whistle then the switch flips again and then I’m back to normal again.”
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