Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool: Mac Allister strikes at the death to grab crucial win

Alexis Mac Allister’s winner in the seventh minute of injury-time secured Liverpool a crucial 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

The Argentine had seen a goal ruled out by VAR just a few minutes earlier before lashing home the winner at the death to take them level on points with Chelsea and Manchester United in the race for the top four in the Premier League.

Forest will be hard done by not only by the tight offside in the build-up to Mac Allister’s winner but also for the way they dominated much of the game, and the defeat will come as a crushing blow in Vitor Pereira’s first Premier League game in charge.

They remain deep in relegation trouble, with West Ham gaining a point on them this weekend after they drew at home to Bournemouth.

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool as it happened

Nottingham Forest dominated the first half but could not find a way past Liverpool, as the sides went in at 0-0 at the City Ground.

The hosts started fast and should have led inside four minutes when Callum Hudson-Odoi raced through, only for Alisson to block at close range. It set the pattern for the half, with Forest pressing aggressively and forcing Liverpool into repeated mistakes.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson controlled midfield, while Murillo and Anderson both had efforts from distance. A penalty appeal after a challenge on Morgan Gibbs-White was waved away, and Virgil van Dijk had to produce a crucial tackle to deny Igor Jesus when he broke into the box.

Liverpool, who lost Florian Wirtz in the warm-up, struggled to settle. Curtis Jones – into the side after Florian Wirts pulled out in the warm-up – was overrun before being moved to right-back as Arne Slot tried to steady his side, but clear chances were scarce for the visitors.

Forest continued to push before the break, with Omari Hutchinson testing Alisson again, yet the breakthrough would not come. Despite their dominance, the hosts had to settle for goalless at half-time.

The pressure from the hosts continued after the break when Nikola Mlienkovic headed inches wide of the post.

Liverpool stepped up after the restart and nearly took the lead on 54 minutes. Mohamed Salah headed a cross back across goal for Curtis Jones, whose close-range effort was brilliantly saved by Ortega before Forest scrambled clear. Mac Allister and Jones both had further shots blocked during a spell of sustained pressure.

Salah saw plenty of the ball but struggled to make it count, failing to register a shot and growing frustrated after being denied a free-kick. At the other end, Forest threatened briefly when Ola Aina’s whipped cross drifted on to the roof of the net.

As the tempo dipped, Aina was booked for hauling back Hugo Ekitike to stop a counter-attack. Forest made changes out wide, introducing fresh legs, while Liverpool continued to ask more questions without finding a breakthrough.

Given three points was so huge for both teams, it was surprising that the tempo was lacking for both sides in the second half but it was undoubtedly the hosts pushing for the winner in the closing stages.

Gibbs-White saw a shot blocked after it dropped to him in the box, before Ibrahim Sangare dragged the follow-up shot wide.

Mac Allister thought he had found the winner in bizarre circumstances when an Ola Aina clearance deflected into the back of the net after Ekitike was denied by Ortega with a brilliant save. But a VAR review concluded that the ball had struck the Argentine’s elbow as the celebrations from the away support were cut short.

But only a matter of minutes later, Mac Allister was celebrating in front of the away end once again after a ball into the box was saved only into the path of the Argentine, who fired into the back of the net.

Another legnthy VAR check followed by Van Dijk was ultimately deemed to be not offisde by the semi-automated technology, allowing the Merseysiders to celebrate what could be a huge win for their Champions League qualification prospects.