Postmortem: Nottingham Forest Outsmart Lacklustre Liverpool | OneFootball

Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest: The Postmortem

This was a game that ended very differently to how much of the Liverpool fanbase would have expected. With a new and seemingly tactically astute Head Coach at the LFC helm, one would have envisioned the home side sweeping away a team that will probably finish in the bottom half of the Premier League. The tactical masterclass was evident for all to see; however, it was the game plan set out by Nottingham Forest manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, which was evident on this occasion, not his counterpart.

The Starting Eleven

GK – Alisson Becker

RB – Trent Alexander Arnold

RCB – Ibrahima Konaté

LCB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Andy Robertson

CM – Alexis Mac Allister

ACM – Dominik Szoboszlai

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

RF – Mohamed Salah

CF – Diogo Jota

LF – Luis Díaz

Subs

Cody Gakpo – Luis Díaz (61 mins)

Darwin Núñez – Diogo Jota (61 mins)

Conor Bradley – Alexis Mac Allister (61 mins)

Kostas Tsimikas – Andy Robertson (75 mins)

Curtis Jones – Ibrahima Konaté (75 mins)

Goals (Assisted by)

Liverpool 0 – 1 Nottingham Forest

Callum Hudson-Odoi (Anthony Elanga) – 72 mins

Important Match Stats

Possession

Liverpool 69% – 31% Nottingham Forest

Total Shots

Liverpool 14 – 5 Nottingham Forest

Crosses

Liverpool 22 – 5 Nottingham Forest

Corner Kicks

Liverpool 7 – 2 Nottingham Forest

Goalkeeper Saves

Liverpool 2 – 5 Nottingham Forest

The First Half

The opening period of this game was a quick delve into a team that wanted the ball, against a group that was there to disrupt and outnumber its opposition. The home side selected by Anfield boss, Arne Slot, was again an unchanged eleven which was entrusted with maintaining the reds winning start to the Premier League campaign. The visiting Forest manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, had taken away his fleet footed wingers and instead started with a workmanlike approach that would cut passing lanes and leave key areas of the pitch overloaded.

Photo: IMAGO

With first half chances falling to the likes of Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota, and Alexis Mac Allister, the opportunities were enough to have earned the first goal for the hosts. The Colombian flyer, Díaz, had charged to retrieve a miss hit pass and through his own endeavour, thrust a low shot onto the near post. That guilt edged chance rebounded out and away from the lurking attackers and the game continued. With both Mac Allister and Jota failing to score from close range, the game state drifted and became somewhat ugly. With a clogged midfield and resilience within the visitor’s defensive work, there was very little time and space for the six-time European Champions to cut through the middle of the pitch, reducing the men in red to sporadic wing play. Mohamed Salah looked unable to unearth his best game, whereas the Hungarian skipper, Dominik Szoboszlai, lacked the intricacies needed to be a ball playing no.10. Andy Robertson looked both aimless and unsure on the left, as Ryan Gravenberch failed to continue his good form.

The minutes drifted towards the break and the low block resistance of Forest kept the scores as they had begun.

The Second Half

On resumption of the second half, no changes were made as the Liverpool Head Coach sent out the same eleven men which had failed to ignite an Anfield fire in the opening period.

With a lack of urgency and invention, repeated attempts to forge an opening was in keeping with a rather flat hosting eleven. The first round of changes was designed to alter the trajectory of the illustrious reds, with Trent Alexander Arnold thrust into an attacking midfield role. The logic of wanting more finesse on the final ball could be understood, however, it seemed like a desperate attempt to make something happen. Very little did.

Photo: IMAGO

Eventually (and inevitably), it was a very well taken goal by the former Chelsea wide man, Callum Hudson-Odoi, which opened the scoring on 72-minutes. After an inside burst and snapshot, the Englishman’s well struck shot nestled into the bottom corner as the Brazilian stopper, Alisson Becker, looked on helplessly. The reaction of Liverpool was to do little and create even less of a fight. The meagre chances were limited in frequency and quality, with further alterations failing to add any substance to that which was already painfully lacking.

The final twenty minutes of the game allowed only a header over the bar by the reds skipper, Virgil van Dijk, as the final whistle alerted a stunned Merseyside crowd to a first loss of the new era.

Final Thoughts

This was a game that will hopefully be looked back upon as a much-needed learning curve. It is unlikely that the former Feyenoord manager, Slot, would have encountered such an organised and dogmatic approach from his previous Eredivisie days. There have been countless matches in the past few years where this type of opposition tactic is endorsed, with this very result ensuring that many teams will be looking to replicate the effective measures.

More variation through central areas and increased pressure to revert to type is very much needed, as the players looked absent and unsure on how to proceed. New leadership and ideas are now a requirement, or this frustration will only continue to avail itself. I believe moments can be taken as education in football, however, the duty of the new man in charge is to adapt and overcome, if he is to become that which we want.

AC Milan comes next for the Champions League opener at the famous San Siro.

Pre-match Prediction:

Liverpool 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest