Nottingham Forest 1-0 Liverpool: Match report, player ratings, fan reaction & more

Liverpool had a slow start to the season, but they have recently beaten Manchester City and West Ham.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, are down in 20th place and kicked off the day with just one win to their name.

So, a Liverpool win seemed very likely. But when all was said and done, Forest came away with a 1-0 win.

Forest sat deep for much of the game, with Liverpool having some joy out wide. However, Liverpool were also sloppy on the ball, which led to a few chances for the home side.

The best chance of the first half came 37 minutes in from a cross to Virgil van Dijk, who decided to head the ball back across goal despite being free and with a clear goalscoring chance there.

Nottingham Forest then took the lead early in the second half. Joe Gomez gave away a free-kick, which saw Ryan Yates hit the post before Taiwo Awoniyi smashed in the deflection.

After the goal Liverpool struggled to create too much, with Forest unlucky not to add a second via some good counters.

Nottingham Forest player ratings

Dean Henderson (6.5) - Made some crucial saves to keep it at 1-0.

Serge Aurier (6) - His marking of Carvalho was questionable. The Portuguese got in behind several times in the first half, leading to Liverpool chances. Improved in the second 45.

Steve Cook (6) - Nearly gave away a penalty but also got the pre-assist for the first goal.

Scott McKenna (6) - Kept Firmino quiet and did little wrong.

Neco Williams (4.5) - Struggled to deal with the movement of Salah and Elliot down the right.

Ryan Yates (7) - Did a good job of intercepting the ball from poor Liverpool passing. His deflected effort also led to the Forest goal. Had some more chances late in the game he was unlucky not to score.

Remo Freuler (6.5) - Won a number of duels to help Liverpool’s threat through the middle.

Cheikhou Kouyate (6) - Got forward to help out with counters and was good at pressing Liverpool’s midfield.

Morgan Gibbs-White (5) - A quiet game but was denied a likely goal by a Milner block.

Jesse Lingard (5) - Not at his best on Saturday but he was decent on the counter before being taken off. Could have pressed more.

Taiwo Awoniyi (7) - Held up the ball well and used his weight to dominate Liverpool’s defenders. Scored the opener.

Substitutes

Brenan Johnson (5) - His pace caused Liverpool issues down their right when Trent came on.

Joe Worrall (5) - Brought on to help see out the win, which Forest did.

Renan Lodi (5) - Solid defensively when he came on.

Liverpool player ratings

Alisson (6.5) - Could not do much about Forest’s goal. Made some good saves late on to keep it at 1-0.

James Milner (6) - Made a good block to deny a second Forest goal.

Joe Gomez (3) - Poor in the build-up, giving away the ball on a number of occasions, leading to Forest chances. Gave away the free-kick which led to the opener.

Virgil van Dijk (4.5) - Like Gomez, Van Dijk gave the ball away too much when trying to build from the back. Had a great chance 37 minutes in but opted to head the ball back across goal. Poor marking for the first goal.

Andy Robertson (5) - A quiet game that saw him do little of note at either end.

Fabinho (5) - Solid showing but he did struggle to mark Lingard and Gibbs-White.

Harvey Elliott (6.5) - Offered some creativity down Liverpool’s right with some good long balls.

Curtis Jones (4.5) - Struggled in the Thiago role, giving the ball away a lot and being dispossessed too easily.

Mohamed Salah (4.5) - Had a couple of half chances but failed to really test Henderson. Spent too much of the game in a central spot where he hardly touched the ball.

Roberto Firmino (4.5) - Dropped deep a lot to help start attacks but struggled to find any of the Liverpool forwards.

Fabio Carvalho (6) - Started well, having the first chance of the game after a brilliant first touch from a ball over the top. Off after 61 minutes.

Substitutes

Trent Alexander-Arnold (3) - Caught out defensively minutes after coming on, leading to a good Forest chance.

Jordan Henderson (4) - Did little of note.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (N/A)

Fan reaction

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