Liverpool cut down Forest with statement win
Liverpool 3 Nottingham Forest 0, 29th October 2023.
LIVERPOOL 3 (Jota 31, Núñez 35, Salah 77)
NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0
For half an hour at Anfield yesterday the early afternoon clash with the “Tricky Trees” of Nottingham Forest was a complete non-event and not even worthy of the cliched “Attack versus Defence” moniker. True, the visitors from Nottingham never posed an attacking threat until the very last kick of the ball finally dirtied the goalkeeping gloves of Alisson Becker in the Reds goal, but his clean sheet was never under threat from a Forest team who, according to the statisticians, had 2 shots off target in the first half (they didn’t, and nor did they have a shot on target either) and by full-time the statisticians would have you believe they had 9 shots off target before finally dirtying Alisson Becker’s gloves with the final kick of the match.
But for 30 minutes this wasn’t even a battle between a probing attacking force and a dogged defensive rearguard. It was a stop/start morass of nothingness until, with Brazilian defender Murillo venturing forward he was brilliantly dispossessed by Alexis Mac Allister in easily his most impressive 90 minutes in a Red shirt of Liverpool so far before releasing Mo Salah on the Liverpool attacking right. With Murillo leaving his defensive mates short it was 3 v 2 and although Salah should have passed left into the running stride of Diogo Jota he in fact took the wrong option of passing to Darwin Núñez. The Uruguayan forced a stinging save from American international Matt Turner in the Forest goal but straight into the running path of Diogo Jota who tapped home easily. Without a thought for a celebration, the Portuguese striker raced to the side of the pitch to hold aloft the number 7 shirt of Luis Díaz, a wonderfully touching gesture in view of the horrendous happenings and the cloud under which he and his family are currently living their lives, and 4 minutes later Darwin Núñez tapped home yet another goal to seal an already overflowing love affair with the tall Uruguyan all around the fields of Anfield Road and beyond.
With the Premier League points already sealed by half-time, the second half was a similar non-event of a contest and over long before Matt Turner in the Forest goal and his central defender Harry Toffolo dithered over a long punt forward from Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah didn’t, and he simply trundled home a tap-in from distance into an empty net. 3 league points gratefully received, the Reds ended the weekend in 4th place in the Premier League a point behind Arsenal and Manchester City and 2 further points from the only team to unfairly defeat them this season, Tottenham Hotspur.
My self-published book on Liverpool FC
On the field, the Reds are way ahead of my expectations in this an evolutionary season ahead of full on tilts at the biggest silverware the game has to offer next season and beyond.
Mo Salah is scoring for fun and supplying assists with equal regularity.
Darwin Núñez notched yet another goal.
Yet another clean sheet for Alisson Becker.
Two more assists for the ever impressive Dominik Szoboszlai.
Diogo Jota continues to stake a permanent claim to the starting XI.
Alexis Mac Allister had his best overall 90 minutes in a Red shirt.
The signs are incredibly promising in a season I’m giving the Reds a “pass” to evolve ahead of next season and the building of Jürgen Klopp’s next great Liverpool team.
Off the field, Luis Díaz’s parents are feared kidnapped in Colombia and I can’t believe I’ve just written that last sentence.
I love this kid. He’s grown into a young man before my Red supporting eyes and he’s a magician with a football. I hold out every possible hope he’s reunited with his parents and family immediately.
A final word from The Boss
“I told the boys after the game the best thing you can say after a game like this is that we played really good and there’s so much space for improvement. Still, that’s obvious as well, the goals were fantastic, the patience we showed, the fluidity in a lot of moments on the ball, a lot of moments, the creative, the togetherness in how we connected with each other was really good, the goals we scored”.
“It was clear we have to give the game an extra sense and it was fighting for Lucho, then the boys put out the shirt and I was not 100 per cent prepared for that, to be honest. It was really touching but wonderful as well”.
“The boys showed wonderful signs in all aspects, all aspects really, but that’s something we now have to learn again. The key positions are obviously occupied by different players than at that time, pretty much everywhere — up front, midfield, last line. If you want it’s Virg, Trent, Mo and Ali — so four players and all the rest around are slightly different. That’s where there is space for improvement”.
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