It was a woeful return from the international break for Liverpool as their unbeaten start to the season came to a crashing halt in a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Premier League (4), Anfield
September 13, 2024
Goals
Hudson-Odoi 72′
Although an international break paused the Reds’ early momentum, for Arne Slot “it was not that difficult to have the same lineup” as the one that comfortably put Man United to the sword.
The unchanged XI had been aiming to equal a club record of four league shutouts to start a season – last achieved in 2005/06 – but that ended in frustrating misery.
Luis Diaz had the first sight of goal for Liverpool after 16 minutes, agonisingly striking the inside of the upright after refusing to give up when the ball was there to be won on the byline.
After nearly two weeks apart, though, not everyone was on the same wavelength and forward momentum was stunted to make for a dull opening 45 – not assisted by 12 fouls combined.
Diogo Jota and Alexis Mac Allister had sighters, but only mere inches denied Slot’s men a lucky breakthrough when the Forest ‘keeper almost bundled Diaz’s header over his own line.
Plenty of possession for Liverpool (66 percent), but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard at the interval.
Half time: Liverpool 0-0 Forest
- First defeat under Slot
- Sloppy on return from the international break
- Ended match with Trent in midfield and a back three
- Federico Chiesa left out of matchday squad
- 5 shots on target for LFC, 0 goals
There was no immediate improvement at the start of the second half, with frustrating decisions in possession doing little to engage a subdued Anfield crowd – one desperate for an explosive moment.
Dominik Szoboszlai‘s inaccuracy gave Forest needless impetus – them and their fans – while the forwards continued to run into dead ends in the final third.
After an hour, Slot had seen enough and made an interesting triple change. Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz all made way for Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo.
Trent Alexander-Arnold shifted into midfield alongside Gravenberch as the Reds opened themselves up, but the opener still felt beyond reach as the clock ticked closer to 90 minutes.
Not for Forest, though. After Nunez lost the ball on the edge of the area, the away side wasted little time moving up the pitch and Alisson could do little against Hudson-Odoi‘s strike.
Slot’s decision to omit Federico Chiesa from the squad became all the more puzzling as his final changes included Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas – creating a back three made up of two full-backs.
Liverpool were lacking cohesion and composure, their heads gone as the hallmarks of Slot’s first games felt ripped up as they became second best across the pitch. International breaks can do one.
TIA Man of the Match: In all honesty, Nuno Espirito Santo.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate (Jones 75′), Van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimikas 75′); Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister (Bradley 60′); Salah, Diaz (Gakpo 60′), Jota (Nunez 60′)
Subs not used: Kelleher, Gomez, Quansah, Endo
Nottingham Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno (Williams 80′); Ward-Prowse, Yates; Dominguez (Hudson-Odoi 54′), Gibbs-White (Morato 81′), Anderson (Elanga 61′); Wood (Jota 81′)
Subs not used: Miguel, Omobamidele, Toffolo, Awoniyi
Next match: AC Milan (A) – Champions League 1 – Tuesday, September 17, 8pm (BST)
