Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Review
Nottingham Forest delivered one of the biggest surprises of the Premier League season by defeating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, strengthening their chances of avoiding relegation and securing back-to-back wins at this venue. Although Liverpool, the reigning champions, have been somewhat lackluster at times this season, they showed plenty of urgency today, nearly scoring within the first 10 minutes. A fluid attack ended with Cody Gakpo setting up Alexis Mac Allister close to goal, but Elliot Anderson made a remarkable last-ditch block to keep the score level, much to the astonishment of the Anfield crowd.
As expected, Liverpool dominated the early stages, creating another opportunity when Mohamed Salah skillfully dribbled past three Forest defenders before passing to Milos Kerkez, whose volley went over the crossbar. Despite Liverpool’s early dominance, it was Forest who unexpectedly took the lead. The Liverpool defense was disorganized while trying to clear a corner, and amid the confusion, Murillo stayed composed and skillfully placed a shot into the corner of the net. Igor Jesus appeared to have doubled the visitors’ lead when he created space inside the box and volleyed the ball into the corner, but his celebration was cut short as the goal was disallowed for a handball before the finish.
The second half was expected to be dominated by Liverpool attacking towards the Forest goal, but instead, the visitors remarkably extended their lead. Former Liverpool player Nico Williams played a key role in the buildup, cutting the ball back to Nicolò Savona, who fired a powerful shot into the top corner. In a desperate bid to turn the game around, Arne Slot brought on Hugo Ekitike, substituting a defender for an attacker, but despite this change, Liverpool struggled to find any rhythm against Forest.
A group of attackers on the field may have been their downfall, as Liverpool showed a lack of real coordination and were punished 12 minutes before the end. Omari Hutchinson’s powerful shot was deflected to Morgan Gibbs-White, who calmly placed a low left-footed strike into the corner as Anfield began to empty. The 3-0 loss was Liverpool’s heaviest home league defeat under Arne Slot, signaling ongoing struggles in their title defense. Forest have now moved safely above the relegation zone, and based on this performance, Sean Dyche appears to be the ideal manager to keep them in the league.
