If there is a more intoxicating and beguiling place to watch Premier League football than the City Ground this season then it must have hidden itself.
Once again here a capacity crowd bore witness to another night carved from Nottingham Forest’s great traditions. The team in Garibaldi red punching upwards, steadfastly refusing to bow to expectations or hierarchy. A certain bloke in an old green jumper would have loved it.
Brian Clough’s Forest used to turn people over regularly here in the 70s and 80s. Liverpool in particular used to hate it. Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest couldn’t quite do it this time. They couldn’t quite turn six league wins on the bounce into seven.
Indeed by the end Forest were hanging on, clinging to imaginary branches as a Liverpool tidal wave washed over them. By full-time, their goalkeeper Matz Sels had announced himself as their best player.
But at the same time this was a scare for Liverpool. Forest’s rope-a-dope tactics had bounced them into an early lead as their centre forward Chris Wood broke away to score. Liverpool, the league leaders, were rattled. They were unsure and anxious. Lots and lots of possession – 71 per cent of it by full-time – but for the first hour at least not a single shot on target.
Substitute Diogo Jota changed that within 22 seconds of coming on. His header from a corner levelled the scores. And after that it was all Liverpool.
Diogo Jota scored within 22 seconds of entering the field as Liverpool’s subs rescued a point
Chris Wood’s 13th goal of the season had put Nottingham Forest on top early on in the tie
Once again the City Ground offered up a fantastic game of football on Tuesday evening
Even so, Arne Slot’s team will be satisfied. They have to be. They didn’t lose and they easily could have. They were utterly without precision, calm or imagination up until the moment Jota scored. And, importantly, title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City – yes, them – failed to win their games.
If Arsenal don’t beat Tottenham at the Emirates on Wednesday night then Liverpool will emerge from this cluster of fixtures with all things equal. Right now, that’s all that matters.
What a game, though. What an atmosphere. What a riot. Liverpool came here knowing exactly what Forest would do but not until the home team’s legs started to tire in the later stages did they even come close to working their opponents out. Sels went from rather unemployed to man of the match in about 25 minutes and that rather summed it all up.
Earlier on, it was easy to categorise what was happening. One team with all the ball but the other with all the ideas.
There is no secret to how Forest play. They have been doing it all season. Possession means nothing to Nuno’s team. It’s what they do when they do have the ball that matters.
The first eight minutes of the game encapsulated that perfectly. Liverpool had all of the play during that time. Forest simply sat off them and didn’t try to engage. Slot’s team looked comfortable and progressive and may even have scored as twice they shot from distance and then Ryan Gravenberch moved on to a short pass from Mo Salah and clipped a shot over the bar from 12 yards.
Had you dropped in from another planet, you may have wondered what all this was all about. A game of two teams with only one really playing. And then, with their very first foray into the Liverpool defensive third, Forest scored.
The conception of the goal was to be found on halfway where Callum Hudson-Odoi – scorer of the goal when Forest won at Anfield back in early autumn – won a tussle with Salah. After that Anthony Elanga fed Wood through the middle and the New Zealander ran away from Virgil van Dijk to slide a shot across Alisson Becker and into the far corner.
MATCH FACTS AND RATINGS
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Sels 8; Aina 6, Milenkovic 7, Murillo 7.5, Williams 6.5 (Moreno 90′); Anderson 6.5, Yates 7 (Dominguez 75′ 6); Elanga 6, Gibbs-White 6.5 (Morato 90′), Hudson-Odoi 6 (Jota Silva 83′); Wood 7 (Awoniyi 90′)
Subs: Boly, Sosa, Ward-Prowse-Carlos Miguel
Goal: Wood 8
Booked: Gibbs-White, Yates
Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 7
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 5.5; Alexander-Arnold 5.5, Van Dijk 5, Konate 6 (Jota 66′ 7.5), Robertson 5.5 (Tsimikas 66′ 6); Mac Allister 6, Gravenberch 6, Szoboszlai 6; Salah 6, Diaz 6.5 (Jones 73′ 6), Gakpo 6
Subs: Bradley, Chiesa, Elliott, Endo, Kelleher, Quansah
Goal: Jota 66
Booked: Diaz
Manager: Arne Slot 6
Referee: Chris Kavanagh 5.5
Att: 30,249
Forest saw little of the ball in the first half but still went in at the break 1-0 up at the City Ground
Both Alisson and Virgil van Dijk made errors in the lead up to Wood’s opening goal
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side moved up to second with a point though Arsenal have played fewer games
Liverpool made their first changes and within 30 seconds they were ahead through Jota’s head
It was classic Forest. A classic counter. From Liverpool’s point of view, it was a dreadful goal. Van Dijk was positioned three yards behind his defensive colleagues in playing Wood onside while Alisson was too close to his near post. He made it easier for the scorer than it may have been.
Liverpool had plenty of time to make amends but for too long did nothing with it. Their choices in the final third were awful. Hopeful shots from distance. Poor passes. The Forest back four – in which the Brazilian Murillo was outstanding – lapped it up.