Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the English Premier League season came to an unexpected halt on Saturday as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield. The loss marked Forest’s first victory at the iconic stadium since 1969, ending Liverpool’s run of three consecutive wins without conceding a goal.
Despite dominating possession with 70%, Liverpool struggled to convert their control into goals. Nottingham Forest, with only 30% possession and three shots on target—all in the second half—secured the win through Callum Hudson-Odoi’s well-placed curling shot in the 72nd minute, which eluded goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
Liverpool’s performance was marred by misplaced passes and missed opportunities. The team’s cohesion seemed lacking, possibly influenced by the recent international break that saw ten players away representing their countries. However, manager Arne Slot dismissed this as an excuse for the subpar display.
“It’s always difficult, but I don’t think it had anything to do with it. Players came back strong, and I saw today a team that wanted to fight until the end. That wasn’t to do with energy,” Slot commented after the match. “Too many individual performances in ball possession were not up to the standards that I’m used to from these players.”
The Reds’ best opportunity came early when Luis Diaz’s shot struck the near post and ricocheted across the goal’s face. Despite their dominance, Liverpool managed to create only a few clear chances, a fact that left Slot visibly frustrated.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three or four quite good chances. That’s by far not enough,” he concluded. “If you have so much possession and play so much in their half, we need to be much better. We lost the ball so many times in simple situations. It is a big setback. If you lose a home game, that’s always a setback.”
The defeat serves as a wake-up call for Liverpool as they look to regain their form and focus ahead of the upcoming fixtures. The team will need to address the issues highlighted by Slot to ensure they remain competitive in the league.
Reference(s):
Liverpool not up to standard, Slot says after defeat to Nottingham
cgtn.com
