Sunday’s briefing: Liverpool in full-blown crisis after Forest’s Anfield defeat

Liverpool’s Premier League season lurched into full-blown crisis mode after a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield – and under-fire boss Arne Slot seems unsure how to arrest the slide.

Meanwhile Rob Edwards faces an equally-daunting task after taking over at his former club Wolves, with defeat to Crystal Palace leaving them nine points adrift of safety.

VAR issues are never far from the headlines on Saturday nights and this time it is Scottish Premiership strugglers Livingston who felt unjustly punished after defeat against Rangers at Ibrox.

Slot stunned as Liverpool slump to another defeat

Liverpool boss Slot admitted he does not know the depth of his side’s current crisis after they slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield – their sixth Premier League defeat in their last seven games.

Goals from Murillo, Nicolo Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White inflicted Liverpool’s heaviest home defeat since losing 4-1 to Manchester City in 2021, and Slot said he took full responsibility for another worrying display.

“How bad, that is difficult to measure but it was very bad. Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which team you face is a very, very bad result,” Slot said.

“I want to emphasise, I am responsible for the current losses: you are responsible when you are winning but also responsible when you are losing.

“I can never come up with excuses for us to have the results we have. That is far from good enough and I am responsible for that.”

Eze does it for Eberechi in north London derby debut

Mikel Arteta says he cannot wait for Eberechi Eze to experience what promises to be a particularly spicy north London derby.

If Tottenham had got their way in the summer Eze would be turning out for them at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

But Arsenal spectacularly hijacked the deal at the 11th hour, agreeing a £67.5million deal with Crystal Palace for the England forward.

Ahead of Sunday’s showdown, Arteta insisted he has no special advice for Eze on his derby debut, saying: “I’m very happy that he is with us.

“Over the years he had many options to go to different places. In the end, he was allowed to leave and he chose to come here, which I’m very, very happy and proud of.

“It’s going to be a game that I can’t wait for him to experience because it’s very special.”

Edwards sees positives despite Wolves defeat to Crystal Palace

New Wolves boss Edwards believes he has something to work with despite goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Daniel Munoz securing a 2-0 win for Crystal Palace in his first game in charge.

Edwards, who controversially walked out on Middlesbrough to return to the Midlands and now finds himself in charge of a club nine points adrift of safety, was keen to accentuate some positives.

He said: “Result is disappointing. The result will take the emotions a certain way. I have to try and take emotion out of it and have some clarity.

“I haven’t got a magic wand but what I have seen, we did win more duels, sprint more – improvements there, but haven’t got the result to back that up.

“We can do more, work hard, get the basics better, there are things we can tidy up on. The Premier League is ruthless and we got punished with some moments.”

Livingston boss insists changes must be made after VAR controversy

Livingston boss David Martindale was left raging about the failure to reward his side a “stonewall” penalty during their 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

Tete Yengi’s shot struck the hand of Emmanuel Fernandez with the score at 1-1 but the spot-kick was ruled out after a VAR review and Mohamed Diomande fired a late winner for the home side.

Livi manager Martindale, whose side remain rooted to the foot of the table, said: “I can’t believe that’s not a penalty.

“I can’t keep going on like this. I don’t understand why it’s not a penalty and I’m not the only manager.

“There’s some manager every week sitting moaning about VAR and blatant decisions. Then you get an apology.

“Apologies are not going to help me on Monday morning. Apologies are not going to help my group. Apologies are not going to give me a point to try and get us up the table. Apologies are not going to give me three points.”

Pogba marks return after two-year absence

Paul Pogba marked his return to football after a two-year absence as he made his debut as a late substitute in Monaco’s 4-1 Ligue 1 defeat at Rennes.

The career of the 32-year-old former Manchester United midfielder has stalled due to a combination of injuries, a doping suspension and an extortion case involving his brother, in which he was the victim.

Pogba could do nothing to prevent his side’s third-straight loss as goals from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Mahdi Camara, Breel Embolo and Ludovic Blas (penalty) eased Rennes home.

What’s on today?

In the Premier League, the north London derby at Emirates Stadium kicks off at 1630, with Arsenal looking to extend their advantage at the top of the table after struggling Leeds host Aston Villa.

Aberdeen take on Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts at Pittodrie, while the Sheffield derby at Hillsborough takes place with a noon kick-off in the Championship.