Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors provided the decisive strike in minute 72 of the contest via substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi, as the winger netted off the inside of Alisson Becker’s post to take the points.
Team news
The Reds began with the same XI that defeated both Brentford and Manchester United prior to the international break.
Curtis Jones was named on the substitutes’ bench after returning to fitness, while Harvey Elliott missed out due to injury.
First half
The opening exchanges passed without major incident in L4 as both teams settled into the encounter.
Liverpool pressed and Forest resisted with the first 15 minutes seeing the game descend into somewhat of a midfield battle between the two.
In minute 17, though, Luis Diaz chased a lost cause on the left flank and won the ball back for the Reds on the byline.
The winger’s endeavour saw him work a chance for himself inside the area, but his low near-post strike cannoned back off the woodwork and away from goal.
Two minutes later, Mohamed Salah delivered a cross with the outside of his boot onto the head of the onrushing Dominik Szoboszlai, with his glancing effort falling the wrong side of the post.
Forest then worked an opportunity themselves in response, Morgan Gibbs-White bursting through to strike a shot wide of Alisson’s net, though the midfielder was flagged for offside afterwards.
Diogo Jota next struck goalwards as Liverpool began to open up the visitors, the forward working goalkeeper Matz Sels from in close after another inviting ball from the outside of the boot, this time Alexis Mac Allister’s, found Jota in the six-yard box.
Ahead of the half-time interval, the Reds continued in their search for an opener.
Captain Virgil van Dijk first headed wide from a corner ball, while Mac Allister forced a brilliant save from Sels.
It was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delivery that saw Mac Allister cushion his header, but the goalkeeper’s intervention to his left denied the midfielder to leave the scores level at the break.
Second half
The early minutes of the second period followed a similar theme to the first with neither side able to force a real opening.
Salah was the first to try his luck, though after he broke into the area at a tight angle his low shot was well saved by Sels.
Forest were restricted to chances on the counter and Chris Wood broke free to force a low save from Alisson after the flag had again been raised for offside.
On the hour, Liverpool made a triple substitution, introducing Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo from the bench.
It was the visitors who threatened next, however, with substitute Anthony Elanga shooting over the bar from the edge of the box following a slick team move from back to front.
Alexander-Arnold also saw a dragged shot deflected wide, but it was Forest who broke the deadlock with 18 minutes remaining.
Substitute Hudson-Odoi was the one to find the back of the net, cutting inside from the left at a swift break to fire past Alisson via the inside of the post.
Elanga again forced a save from Alisson a short while later, and Szoboszlai and Van Dijk both went close through a deflected low strike and a header respectively.
Liverpool, though, were unable to find a leveller late on and were beaten on Merseyside.
 |
 |
 |
 |
via www.liverpoolfc.com
No comments:
Post a Comment