Join AI Pro

Liverpool 0 – 3 Nottingham Forest – Premier League Postmortem

With Liverpool’s season already hanging together with sticky tape and blurred vision, Anfield expected a response after seven league defeats and an international break to regroup. What they witnessed instead was a limp collapse against a Nottingham Forest side that arrived with a plan, a purpose, and the physical edge Liverpool have lacked all campaign. I expected more but was not surprised by what I witnessed, as the Reds head coach corrected none of the previous failures which every adversary is pouncing on

This was a day that exposed not only the fractures in Arne Slot’s system, but also the mental fragility of a team completely unable to cope with direct football, second balls, and sustained physical pressure. The reigning champions are not just out of the title race – they are unrecognisable from the side that lifted the Premier League trophy only months ago. The leadership looks likely to have serious conversations about whether they can get back on track, with the fanbase now having lost all hope in the man who won the Premier League in his first season.

The Starting Eleven

Liverpool XI

• GK – Alisson Becker

• RB – Dominik Szoboszlai

• CB – Ibrahima Konaté

• CB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

• LB – Milos Kerkez

• CM – Alexis Mac Allister

• CM – Ryan Gravenberch

• CM – Curtis Jones

• RW – Mohamed Salah

• CF – Alexander Isak

• LW – Cody Gakpo

Substitutes

Hugo Ekitike → Ibrahima Konaté (55’)

Andy Robertson → Milos Kerkez (68’)

Federico Chiesa → Alexander Isak (68’)

Rio Ngumoha → Curtis Jones (78’)

Goals

Liverpool 0–1 Nottingham Forest – Murillo (33’)

Liverpool 0–2 Nottingham Forest – Nicola Savona (Neco Williams) (46’)

Liverpool 0–3 Nottingham Forest – Morgan Gibbs-White (78’)

Match Statistics

• Possession – Liverpool 75% | Nottingham Forest 25%

• XG – Liverpool 1.93 | Nottingham Forest 1.58

• Total Shots – Liverpool 21 | Nottingham Forest 15

• Fouls – Liverpool 11 | Nottingham Forest 8

• Corners – Liverpool 8 | Nottingham Forest 6

• Saves – Liverpool 4 | Nottingham Forest 3

First Half

An expectant Anfield crowd looked on as Liverpool once again dominated the ball without ever controlling the actual football match. Forest sat compact, waited, harassed, and bullied Liverpool’s soft midfield trio into repeated mistakes. Alexis Mac Allister had a chance well blocked early on, as a bright start gave false hope to the home support.

The opener, when it came, felt inevitable. A simple set-piece delivery, poorly defended, allowed Murillo to steer Forest in front. Liverpool, for all their possession, looked toothless, predictable, and scared of the very physical duel Dyche’s team relished.

Curtis Jones struggled to influence anything, Mac Allister was chased into anonymity, and Ryan Gravenberch was repeatedly shrugged off the ball. Anfield grew frustrated. Forest merely grew bolder. The Hungarian pair, Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez, both had attempts blocked.

Second Half

The restart brought the worst possible scenario: conceding within 60 seconds. Neco Williams burst forward and squared for Savona to slam home, while Liverpool’s entire defensive structure stood watching or falling over.

From there, Liverpool played with desperation rather than design. Crosses floated aimlessly, combinations broke down, and Alexander Isak looked like a player trying to speak a different footballing language to those around him.

Hugo Ekitike offered some fight when introduced, but by the time Gibbs-White drilled home Forest’s third, the stadium had already emotionally checked out. This wasn’t a shock – it was a continuation of a theme.

Final Thoughts

This was the kind of performance that makes you question the entire direction of travel. Not just a bad day, but a systemic failure repeatedly exposed by physical, organised sides. Liverpool cannot defend set pieces, cannot win second balls, cannot protect their centre-backs, and cannot sustain pressure in any meaningful way. There is no fluency and defined patterns of play, as the expectation seems to be that better players will prevail, whereas structure and desire are winning consistently.

It was disjointed, passive, and utterly devoid of leadership — the clearest sign yet that Arne Slot is running out of time and out of answers. Is the dressing lost? Maybe.

The champions look like a collection of expensive parts rather than a functioning team. And unless something radical changes — in system, personnel, or management — the season will continue to unravel at speed.

Steven Smith’s Score Prediction:

Liverpool 2 – 1 Nottingham Forest

Join AI Pro