For all those Liverpool critiques who claimed that the Reds were lucky at the beginning of the season with an easier schedule, and for all those Nottingham Forest doubters who are claiming that Espirito Santo‘s team are a one hit wonder, this was the game. The leader of the Premier League and the best attack in England against the third-best defense played their second game this season, and this time, it ended peacefully 1-1. It was Forest who defeated Liverpool right at Anfield, and it remains the Reds‘ only loss so far, so the home team had a unique chance to do the double over Liverpool for the first time since 1962. When Wood scored after eight minutes it looked like this was the day, but in the end Matz Sels ended the game as the hero who prevented Arne Slot‘s men from turning the game around completely.🚨🏴 GOAL | Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool | Diogo JotaDIOGO JOTA EQUALIZES A FEW SECONDS AFTER COMING IN !!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/nPt2KvHywX— David Jaiyeola (@ablan_david) January 14, 2025 The Belgian keeper has kept nine clean sheets in the Premier League this season, the most of any goalkeeper but Diogo Jota ended his streak in the 66th minute and also broke Nottingham‘s streak of six consecutive Premier League wins. Two main things happened in this match – Arne Slot‘s clever substitutions and Sels‘ four marvelous saves. The home team played so great defensively that the best offense in the Premier League managed their first shot on target in the 66th minute, when Jota equalized. Literally 20 seconds before the goal, Jota and Tsimikas were introduced. The Greek took the shot from the corner and the Portuguese headed the ball for 1-1. What a substitution by Slot! After that, the Reds played like mad, while Forest looked more like Southampton than as a team which is currently second on the table. There were on the ‘ropes‘ in the last 15 minutes of the game and only Sels saved them from a defeat.#Forest | #Liverpool | 1-1Cody Gakpo vuruyor 🚀 Matz Sels müthiş çıkarıyor🧤 Ne kurtarış ama!!! 🤯🔥#LiverpoolFC | #Nottingham | #NottinghamForest | #PremierLeague | #EPL | #NFOLIV pic.twitter.com/e1YOMzam35— Footbalyze (@Gokturk_Tamay) January 14, 2025 The game just started and the stadium already erupted when Chris Wood scored. In the eight minute, Elanga got the ball near midfield and quickly made a great pass in the open space for New Zealand international, who superbly finished for his third goal in a row and 13th so far in the league. Just three minutes later, the fate of this game could have been a lot different if Murillo‘s long-distance shot went into Allison‘s net. Luckily for the Reds, the ball flew near the post. And that was basically it from both teams in the first half. Liverpool had real problem to get through a rock-solid Nottingham defense and all their chances were basically not real chances, as they failed even to take a proper shot. Whenever it looked like there will be a shot, some Forest defender came out of nowhere to block that opportunity. The second half was much better as Liverpool not only scored an equalizer, but finally broke the Nottingham‘s defense, who looked shaken and finally, Matz Sels was forced to actually save his goal. And he did it superbly twice, both times against Jota. But that was not the end. Salah had a superb shot in the 87th minute, but the Belgian keeper made an even better save for the final 1-1.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 21Tuesday Brentford – Man.City 2-2 (0-0)/Wissa 82,Norgaard 90+2 – Foden 66, 78/Chelsea – Bournemouth (1-0)/Palmer 13, James 90+5 – Kluivert 50 (p), Semenyo 68/West Ham – Fulham 3-2 (2-0)/Soler 31, Soucek 33, Paqueta 67 – Iwobi 51, 78/Nott.Forest – Liverpool 1-1 (1-0)/Wood 8 – Jota 66/Wednesday 22.30: (3.20) Everton (3.40) Aston Villa (2.40)22.30: (3.90) Leicester (3.50) Crystal Palace (1.95)22.30: (1.37) Newcastle (5.10) Wolverhampton (7.75)23.00: (1.45) Arsenal (5.10) Tottenham (7.00)Thursday 22.30: (4.00) Ipswich (3.60) Brighton (2.00)23.00: (1.30) Man.Utd. (5.50) Southampton (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
