Liverpool failed in their bid to become Premier League champions on Tuesday night as they could only draw 1-1 against high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The home side got off to a dream start as they looked to complete an incredible double over Liverpooland Chris Wood fired them in front after just eight minutes. The 33-year-old curled a low effort beyond Alisson as Forest punished their visitors’ sloppiness on the counter-attack.
Forest have not conceded since mid-December. Such was their outstanding defensive organization and they showed no signs of letting Liverpool back into the game. Their determined backline was defiant in individual battles and they went into half-time without a single shot on goal.
Liverpool’s creative struggle continued at the beginning of the second period, but the arrival of Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota in the 65th minute proved to be crucial. The left-back’s first touch of the game set up the Portuguese from a corner and the striker’s header, which came just 22 seconds after entering the game, equalized for Liverpool.
Jota came close to firing Liverpool into the lead ten minutes after his opener, but Matz Sels made a superb save to deny him. The ball accidentally fell to the striker inside the penalty area, but the Belgian goalkeeper’s sprawling stop from the penalty spot prevented Liverpool.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo forced Sels into smart saves in the final ten minutes as Liverpool looked for a winner, and the Egyptian also saw Ola Aina’s late effort cleared off the line.
In the end, Forest’s defense just about held firm to secure a point in a hard-fought battle against the leaders, with Liverpool dropping points for a second successive Premier League game.
*Ratings are provided by FotMob*
|
Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: Matz Sels |
7.9/10 |
|
RB: Hello Aina |
7.1/10 |
|
CB: Nikola Milenkovic |
7.1/10 |
|
CB: Murillo |
8.1/10 |
|
LB: Neco Williams |
6.9/10 |
|
DM: Ryan Yates |
6.5/10 |
|
DM: Elliot Anderson |
7.9/10 |
|
RW: Anthony Elanga |
7.7/10 |
|
in the morning: Morgan Gibbs-White |
6.5/10 |
|
LW: Callum Hudson-Odoi |
7.2/10 |
|
ST: Chris Wood |
7.2/10 |
|
UNDER: Nicolas Dominguez (77′ for Yates) |
6.4/10 |
|
UNDER: Jota Silva (83′ for Hudson-Odoi) |
ON |
|
UNDER: Alex Moreno (90′ for Williams) |
ON |
|
UNDER: Taiwo Awoniyi (90′ for Wood) |
ON |
|
UNDER: Morato (90′ for Gibbs-White) |
ON |
Subs not used: Carlos Miguel (GK), Willy Boly, James Ward-Prowse, Ramon Sosa.
*Ratings are provided by FotMob*
|
Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: Alisson |
6.5/10 |
|
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Ibrahim Konata |
6.5/10 |
|
CB: Virgil van Dijk |
7.5/10 |
|
LB: Andy Robertson |
6.4/10 |
|
DM: Ryan Gravenberch |
7.4/10 |
|
DM: Alexis McAllister |
7.4/10 |
|
RW: Mohamed Salah |
6.9/10 |
|
in the morning: Dominik Szoboszlai |
7.4/10 |
|
LW: Cody Gakpo |
7.2/10 |
|
ST: Luis Diaz |
6.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Kostas Tsimikas (65′ for Robertson) |
7.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Diogo Jota (65′ for Van Dijk) |
7.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Curtis Jones (75′ for Diaz) |
6.3/10 |
Subs not used: Caoimhin Kelleher (GK), Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa.
Man of the match – Murillo (Nottingham Forest)
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