LIVERPOOL, England, Sept 14 (Askume) – Substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi’s superb second-half strike gave Nottingham Forest their biggest win so far in this season’s Premier League by beating Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.
This was Forest’s first win at Anfield since 1969, with the players and away fans celebrating, while home fans lamented the Reds’ lack of lead and disappointing performance.
Liverpool dominated the first half and Luis Diaz came close to breaking the deadlock in the 17th minute when he unleashed a powerful shot wide of the near post after surging forward to place the ball on the Forest goal line.
Two minutes later, Mohamed Salah delivered a beautiful cross to Dominik Szoboszlai with the outside of his left foot, but the ball went wide, increasing the pressure on Liverpool.
The reality, however, was that Salah was well controlled by Forest full-back Alex Moreno, who pursued the Egyptian before being substituted late on.
Perhaps sensing it was not going to be his day, Liverpool boss Arne Slott scrambled to deny Trent Alexander-Arnold when Forest goalkeeper Matt Sayers squandered possession late in the first half, with the latter flying over the crossbar from a corner kick.
Selzer almost gave Liverpool the lead just before half-time when Diaz headed in a header and the goalkeeper tried to put the ball into his own net but luckily managed to get away from danger.
For all the chances Liverpool’s attackers created in the first half, they found themselves on a different wavelength and their play mostly lacked the usual fluidity as chances went wasted.
They faced trouble in the 72nd minute when Anthony Elanga delivered a beautiful cross-ball pass to substitute Hudson-Odoi, with the 23-year-old winger unleashing a powerful shot that beat goalkeeper Alisson.
Under Arne Slot, Liverpool won their first three league games comfortably without conceding a goal but struggled to come back. The closest they came to equalising was Virgil van Dijk’s header from a corner.
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo’s tactics were right, but it was his inspired substitutions that ensured victory.
“Callum (Hudson-Odoi) and I talked about it on the bench and when we get going we will make changes,” Swedish winger Elanga said.
“We came to Liverpool and very few teams could beat them and play like us – and in the end it paid off.”
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was not happy with Forest’s defensive plan but admitted it was very effective.
“Our defensive strategy was poor. We couldn’t create much, we lacked quality today and we need more energy. We lost three points unnecessarily today,” he said.
