Liverpool dropped points for the first time this season after a second-half stunner from Callum Hudson-Odoi earned Nottingham Forest their first victory at Anfield in 55 years.
Arne Slot’s side were yet to concede a league goal this term, before the introduction of Hudson-Odoi from the Forest bench, with Nuno Espirito Santo masterminding the unlikeliest of 1-0 wins.
The substitute scored the winner in the 72nd minute after Liverpool’s retreating backline offered him the time and space to measure a shot from 20 yards, beckoned to try his luck by the travelling support behind the goal. He obliged, bending a perfectly precise strike beyond Alisson at full stretch.
“We lost the ball so many times in simple positions,” Slot said. “It wasn’t good enough, too many individual performances were not of the standard I’m used to. It’s a big setback.”
Liverpool have lost two of their last five Premier League games at Anfield
Liverpool, with lofty ambitions in Slot’s first season in charge, created plenty but lacked any cutting edge as every final pass or attempted finish failed to hit the correct mark.
Their 14 shots at goal – five on target – were a sign of the home side’s obvious dominance, but unlike the opening three weeks of the campaign where they scored seven times, were unable to convert such superiority into anything tangible.
Callum Hudson-Odoi celebrates his winner against Liverpool
Meanwhile, everything Forest did paid off.
Both team selection – Ryan Yates and James Ward-Prowse were among four changes, selected to pack the middle of the park – and formation worked to stifle and frustrate Liverpool. Substitutions made a game-changing impact as Anthony Elanga and Hudson-Odoi combined for the winner. The product of a precise and well constructed game plan, executed perfectly.
“Many of our fans were not even born [the last time Forest won at Anfield]. That says how hard it is to win here,” Nuno reflected.
Merson unconvinced by lethargic Liverpool
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Following their 1-0 shock defeat to Nottingham Forest, Paul Merson says Arne Slot’s Liverpool side won’t be able to challenge for the Premier League title
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:
“I thought Liverpool were a bit boring. I thought it was slow. When you watched Jurgen Klopp’s teams play, they break and it is 100mph. It just seemed to go through the phases. It wasn’t quick enough.
“Unless they quicken this up, I don’t see it. I don’t see them challenging. Watching this game, it was like ‘if we don’t lose this ball we win’. And that isn’t Liverpool in my opinion.”
Slot: Players not of standard I’m used to
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Liverpool manager Arne Slot said his side had to be better with the ball in their 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot:
“The only thing we had influence on was ball possession. If you play so much on their half we have to be better, we lost the ball so many times in simple situations.
“I saw today a team that wanted to fight until the end, so it’s not to do with energy, but we had the ball a lot. We have to create from ball possession.
“It wasn’t good enough, too many individual performances were not of the standard I’m used to from these players. It’s a big setback if you lose a home game, especially if you face a team that is not usually ending up in the top 10. They were organised and structured really well but it’s a big disappointment.”
Nuno proud of team display
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Nuno Espirito Santo said Nottingham Forest had to have a balance to their play in the side’s 1-0 win away at Liverpool.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo:
“I’m very happy. Proud of the work of the players, and proud of the way we behave as a team. It’s all about taking your chances in the right moments and we did that.
“We made subs, they came in and impacted the game, that’s good. The squad has to be ready because it’s going to be a very long season.
“At half-time, we tried to correct some of the mistakes we saw and it meant we were much more compact in the second half.”
Analysis: Liverpool can be made to look average
Mohamed Salah was below par as he squandered chances for Liverpool to break the deadlock
This was not a game Nottingham Forest necessarily deserved to win. Nor was it a game Liverpool deserved to lose. But outcomes in the Premier League are not always dictated by who is more deserving. Arne Slot will know that now.
This was the day the Liverpool boss found out that his new playground is not always fun and games. And that seemingly lower powers – the Dutchman made a point of saying Forest are not considered a top-10 side in his press conference – can spring a surprise or two.
Not a huge amount actually went wrong for Liverpool. But lots of things happened to go right for Nuno Espirito Santo, who set up his side shrewdly, picked his best midfield aggressors and made astute tactical decisions at key moments in the game. His substitutions were simply more effective than Slot’s.
Liverpool were sloppier than usual too. They were vulnerable to the counter-attack – which was Forest’s best asset – and languid in possession, which made for poor chance creation. The hosts finished the game with an xG of 0.87, far below the norm.
Slot blamed the poor performance of individuals – he’s got a point – while Paul Merson called Liverpool “boring”. What was clear, though, was how badly Slot needs his big-hitters to perform if Liverpool are to be successful this season.
We saw very little Mo Salah magic, Luis Diaz ingenuity (albeit he did hit the post), or Trent Alexander-Arnold craft. And the end product was just a whole lot of averageness.
