Moments you may not have spotted during Liverpool’s Premier League game at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night
Liverpool maintained their Premier League title challenge and avoided only a second top-flight defeat of the season with a stirring comeback at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening. Substitute Diogo Jota scored with his first touch midway through the second half to wipe out Chris Wood’s early opener as only an inspired goalkeeping performance from Matz Sels prevented the Reds going on to claim all three points in a 1-1 draw.
The result means Arne Slot’s side remain six points of Forest with a game in hand and, on the same number of matches played as Arsenal, moved seven points clear of the GunnersBut there was plenty that went unnoticed or under the radar during the 90 minutes at the City GroundSlot in the sights
Forest are the only team to beat Liverpool in the Premier League this season, a fact Slot has referenced a few times. And the home supporters weren’t going to let him forget about that here.After being taunted with suggestions that Forest are in his head, the Reds boss was later called something unrepeatable for family reading while, riffing on their insult to Jurgen Klopp in previous years, the Dutchman’s choice of footwear was called into question.
Such chat, though, went rather quiet the moment Slot’s call to introduce Jota and Kostas Tsimikas from the bench proved so decisive. Strange, that.There was further whimsicality in the stands when chants of “Same old Scousers, always cheating” came from the fans of Forest, a club docked points last season for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
And Forest supporters greeted with a jeer the ditty from the Liverpool end that includes a line of having a particular dislike for their team, a tune popular among Reds fans during the 1980s.
Given the East Midlands side were out of the top flight for more than two decades, that they are sufficiently relevant to be regarded chant-worthy should be taken as a compliment.
Mind you, if Forest weren’t happy with some of the officiating, then Liverpool were absolutely livid on occasion. Slot was seen often prowling the technical area gesticulating at referee Chris Kavanagh and some of his colleagues.
On the pitch, meanwhile, the complaints of Alexis Mac Allister were so vociferous and regular that home fans wanted him booked for complaining – usually about cumbersome Forest skipper Ryan Yates.And when the teams walked off at half-time, Trent Alexander-Arnold was spotted deep in conversation with Kavanagh, presumably over one of several interesting decisions in the first half.
Dom the conductor
There was a boisterous atmosphere at the City Ground with this the biggest league game Forest had hosted in a generation. And while the home fans had plenty to cheer about in the first half, it was the away end that started to find its voice after the break.That was noticed by the Liverpool players, with Dominik Szoboszlai whirling his arms at one point and gesturing towards the travelling Kop to raise the volume even further.
His request was duly noted with the Reds supporters responding with a huge, defiant cheer. It was a moment that encapsulated a lively evening for the visitors