- Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League, extending their winning streak to three games.
- Diogo Jota broke the deadlock for the Reds as Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah both found their names on the scoresheet.
Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League, extending their winning streak to three games in an intense contest at Anfield thanks to three goals from three different scorers.
Diogo Jota broke the deadlock for the Reds, who honored their missing winger hours after the heartbreaking news of Luis Diaz’s parents being abducted in Colombia. Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah both found their names on the scoresheet following a strong day’s effort.
How the game unfolded
The move to a back five by Steve Cooper was paying off immediately, as Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner did not have much to do other than stop a meek shot from Jota in the eighth minute and watch as Alexis Mac Allister’s speculative effort went wide nine minutes later.
The strategy of Nottingham Forest was spot on, but as the Tricky Trees started to take more chances, they found themselves exposed in the 32nd minute when Turner parried a deflected Nunez effort back into the danger zone, and Jota capitalized on the loose balls with an easy finish.
Diogo Jota paying tribute to Luis Diaz’s parents. Photo/BNN Breaking
Jota gave the audience a heartfelt salute to Diaz and his family during the celebrations by holding up his teammate’s shirt.
Once more building down the right, Salah slipped in Dominik Szoboszlai with a deft pass to the byline. The Hungarian then cut back for Nunez, who from a few yards out blasted the ball into the roof of the net.
Plan A was discarded, and Forest attempted in vain to catch Liverpool on the counter in the second half. The Reds were disappointed by their inability to make the outcome more certain, partly because of subpar last-minute passes.
In a span of seven minutes, Salah, Harvey Elliott, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all failed to clear the crossbar, demonstrating a lackadaisical approach to finishing. However, Salah would eventually get it through, extending his incredible run at Anfield.
With 13 minutes remaining, Turner crossed into unmarked territory in an attempt to intercept a long pass from Szoboszlai. However, the American appeared confused as the ball bounced over him, and Salah composedly rolled home into an empty net from 25 yards out to contribute to the score for the 14th consecutive Premier League home game.
Darwin Nunez celebrates. Photo/Eurosport
The hosts would have preferred a stress-free conclusion to the game, but they were unprepared for Elanga’s vicious volley from Ryan Yates’s throw that struck the crossbar in the 85th minute, and the Swede’s identical attempt that went over the top four minutes later.
In the fourth minute of injury time, Liverpool believed they had scored four goals via Cody Gakpo, but the offside flag disallowed the goal because the Dutchman arrived too early to collect Elliott’s ball.
In the end, it didn’t matter that Gakpo’s goal was disallowed; Liverpool moved up to third position in the standings, briefly, while Forest fell to 16th place after Everton’s victory over West Ham United.
Klopp’s team will now play Bournemouth in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday, while Forest will play Aston Villa in the Premier League the following weekend.
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