Liverpool 3-2 Nottingham Forest as Jota brace helps Reds win five-goal thriller
Diogo Jota scored twice as Liverpool won 3-2 at Anfield to increase Nottingham Forest’s relegation fears.
The Portuguese opened the scoring in a five-goal second half before scoring again after former Reds defender Neco Williams promptly leveled.
But the visitors kept threatening and got back on track when Morgan Gibbs-White volleyed into the bottom corner from just inside the box.
Liverpool 3-2 Nottingham Forest as Jota brace helps Reds win five-goal thriller
Steve Cooper’s side rarely looked solid in defending set-pieces, though, and conceded another through that method when Mohamed Salah volleyed in a free-kick delivery to delight the home crowd.
That helped the hosts make it two wins on the bounce and ensured their opponents remain in the Premier League’s bottom three.
Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Liverpool | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Forest | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Goals:
LIV — Jota — 47th min
NOT — Williams — 51st min
LIV — Jota — 55th min
NOT — Gibbs-White — 67th min
LIV — Salah — 70th min
Jota helps Reds paper over cracks
It’s hardly surprising that Liverpool aren’t the all-conquering winning machine they once were at this time in the season.
However, even flawed teams can win a lot of games, as the Reds demonstrated here.
After scoring just once in a recent four-game winless streak, Klopp’s players have already scored 11 goals in the last three games.
And that kind of prolific form can serve to disguise the obvious shortcomings of this side for the rest of the campaign.
Set-pieces do the job for the Reds
Of course, the hosts didn’t find it particularly easy to create from open play against a massed Forest defence, and so turned to a familiar weapon to get on the scoresheet three times.
That is a set-piece threat that was a hallmark of even the best Klopp teams in recent years – though more regularly used to break open games than decide them.
All three goals came from either a corner or free-kick, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson’s wicked deliveries causing chaos in the opposition box.
It is certainly a good skill to have, and one that is proving useful to Liverpool even in a season where they are no longer challenging for trophies.
