Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest. Premier League.
AnfieldAttendance50,143.
Report and free match highlights as goals from Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah clinch an easy 3-0 win for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest; Jota paid tribute to Luis Diaz following the news of his parents' kidnapping in Colombia
Sunday 29 October 2023 23:54, UK
Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah were on target as Liverpool eased to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Anfield to cut the gap to leaders Tottenham to three points.
Jota converted the opener from close range in the first half and celebrated with a show of solidarity to Luis Diaz, holding up the absent winger's shirt following the news of his parents' kidnapping in Colombia.
Nunez scored a well-worked Liverpool second a few minutes later, turning home Dominik Szoboszlai's cut-back after the midfielder had been played in by Salah on the right-hand side of the Forest box.
The Egyptian added the third in the second half after an error from Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner, who came racing out of his box only to fail to cut out Szoboszlai's long pass, with Salah taking full advantage to score his 10th goal of the campaign.
Forest's only chance of note saw Anthony Elanga strike the crossbar in the closing stages but the result was never in any doubt, with Jurgen Klopp dedicating the win to Diaz and praising his players for their performance in "the most difficult circumstances" of his career.
"It's not about us, it's about Lucho and his family, and we all pray and hope that everything will be fine," he added.
Forest were set up to sit back and absorb pressure but Liverpool's quality soon proved too much, with the hosts creating two openings from Nunez, one from a Salah pass and the second from a corner, before Salah played him in again for the opener.
The Uruguayan's powerful, angled effort was parried by Turner, but Jota, Diaz's replacement in the team, was on hand to turn the loose ball home before running over to the bench for his pre-planned tribute to his absent team-mate.
Liverpool continued to overwhelm Forest when play resumed and the second goal arrived soon afterwards, when Salah played in Szoboszlai following a slick move and the Hungarian found Nunez to convert his sixth goal of the season.
Liverpool could have been completely out of sight before the break, with Turner saving from Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in quick succession, but they continued to dominate in the second half.
Forest had one of few real chances when Nicolas Dominguez failed to properly connect with a low cross from Morgan Gibbs-White cross, and that near miss was swiftly punished.
Salah's goal, stroked into an empty net after Turner's misjudgement allowed the excellent Szoboszlai's pass to bounce over his head, extended the 31-year-old's run of goal involvements at Anfield to 14 consecutive Premier League appearances.
Forest went close for the first time when Elanga crashed his diagonal effort off the underside of the bar in the closing stages, but they finished the game having failed to even register a shot on target, the defeat keeping them 16th.
Liverpool, meanwhile, thought they had added a fourth when substitutes Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo combined in stoppage time, but VAR found the Dutchman to be offside. Three goals were more than enough, though, to ensure optimism continued to grow on Merseyside around their strong start to the campaign.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said: "The game and result is very good for us. We played in the most difficult circumstance I've ever had.
"It was a really difficult day, which ended with a good result and the best thing we could do for our brother was that we win the game and distract him a little bit maybe.
"After more than 1,000 games you would think you have experienced everything, but no.
"But it's not about us, it's about Lucho and his family, and we all pray and hope that everything will be fine.
"What we can do, we will do, we've done already in the club and the only thing we could do today was fight for their brother - and that's what they did."
It was a day for Liverpool's front three to feast but Dominik Szoboszlai was Liverpool's star performer.
The 23-year-old is proving to be one of the signings of the season in the Premier League and his display at Anfield on Sunday summed up just how much he is giving Jurgen Klopp's side.
Szoboszlai has usurped Trent Alexander-Arnold as the team's creative force, with only Bruno Fernandes, Kieran Trippier and James Maddison fashioning more chances in the Premier League this season, and that creativity yielded two assists against Forest.
The first saw him pick out Nunez with a precise cut-back following a trademark run into the box. The second, for Salah, underlined his passing range as his long pass outfoxed Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Szoboszlai's attacking threat is only one part of his offering. He is just as important off the ball. He won possession more times (13) than anyone else on Sunday. In fact, he ranks second only to Luton's Marvelous Nakamba in that metric in the Premier League this season.
His physical intensity is proving invaluable. Only Alexis Mac Allister covered more ground among Liverpool players against Forest, according to tracking data, while only Nunez registered more sprints.
He was relentless and he has been all season. Szoboszlai is the only outfield player to have played every minute of Liverpool's Premier League campaign so far. His completeness has rapidly made him indispensable to Klopp.
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper said: "It felt like we were okay, giving away set-pieces and letting them at times get into dangerous areas but I still felt we were okay defensively.
"We could've done a bit better with the ball, got a bit higher up the pitch, but what we didn't want to do was open up the pitch because that's when they're at their most dangerous.
"If you look at the goals, that's exactly what we ended up doing. The first one is a turnover in the middle of the pitch which we shouldn't give away, and as soon as they make the first pass you know you can be in trouble.
"Same thing for the second one, there weren't too many times we got loads of bodies up the pitch in the first half, but on one that we did, turnover again, not quite right on the transition and they punish you.
"The third goal speaks for itself, it shouldn't happen at this level but it has."
Liverpool face a trip to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm. They then travel to Luton on Sunday November 5, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 4.30pm.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa, also live on Sky Sports, on Sunday November 5, kick-off 2pm.
