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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot turned away in disgust as the final whistle blew at the City Ground on Tuesday, as the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
After being beaten 1-0 at Anfield earlier this season, Liverpool was keen to hit back at Forest but fell behind after just eight minutes as striker Chris Wood scored his 13th Premier League goal of the campaign. An inspired double-substitution paid off for Slot in the second half, as Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota combined to fire Liverpool level after 66 minutes.
Liverpool dominated the game with 71 percent possession and had 17 more shots than Forest, but failed to capitalize. Forest has only conceded 20 goals in the league this season, but Slot was extremely frustrated that Liverpool failed to leave Nottingham with all three points.
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Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Mohamed Salah were all denied a game-winning goal by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, who starred on Tuesday night. It was a missed opportunity for Liverpool, with Chelsea and Manchester City also dropping points.
Chelsea defender Reece James scored a last-minute goal to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth, and City fumbled a two-goal lead as Brentford rescued a point. Liverpool has now drawn its last two games, but remains six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game advantage.
Despite his initial frustrations, Slot was respectful to Forest after the game and praised their defensive prowess in an interview with TNT Sports. “Their goalkeeper had to make a few incredible saves, but their defenders also made some good blocks with quite a few chances. They blocked almost every shot,” Slot said.
“I could not have asked for more. Second half was outstanding. There are not many teams that can create so many chances against an opponent so defensively strong. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a second.”
Slot was a frustrated figure throughout Tuesday’s clash -Credit:2025 Getty Images
When asked why Liverpool struggled to break down Forest’s defense, Slot added: “When the goalkeeper has it they go long, which you have to defend firstly, which we did. Then you have to win the second ball.
“If you win that then they go back in a low block with eleven players around the 18 yard box. It is so, so hard for every team to create here. And at times it was one chance after another, although sometimes it took a long time for the restart.”
Slot was also asked about his incredible double-substitution, which saw Tsimikas assist Jota just 22 seconds after both players entered the field. “You need to be a bit lucky with that [substitution],” Slot said.
“We took Ibou [Konate] out at that moment who is normally a big threat on set pieces but we all know Jota can score a goal and Tsmikas has a good delivery. We brought them in to score a goal but they really did it after 20 seconds.”