Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

A look back at the key moments in Liverpool’s Premier League win against Nottingham Forest.

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Nottingham Forest 0 - 1 Liverpool

Liverpool: Nunez 90+9’

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Pre-Match

Jürgen Klopp chose to field an interesting midfield trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Bobby Clark, and Joe Gomez (?), letting Wataru Endo rest. The big news is seeing both Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez on the bench after extended absences.

First Half

As expected, Nottingham Forest were happy to concede possession to Liverpool and hope to find chances to counter on the break. The biggest threat is former Liverpool cult hero Divock Origi and Anthony Elenga.

He nearly got first blood as he managed to glide through the defense to blast one towards the goal. It’s just wide.

18 minutes in, and Liverpool get their own close call with Luis Diaz hitting the side netting. It’s safe to say that the Reds have to find their way through a crowded Nottingham Forest defense. In another such display, a long period of possession in front of the Nottingham goal leads to a break by Elanga in a matter of precious seconds. Kelleher is alive to it and sticks a foot out to deny the shot.

Mac Allister chips the ball to Cody Gakpo in the penalty area. Instead of heading the ball into the goal, he instead nods it back to the center, but there’s no one to finish it. A strange choice from the forward, but perhaps he thought the angle wasn’t right with the goalkeeper looming.

I wish there was more to talk about here, but I’ll take this moment to say how much I love a game when the sun makes strange shadows on the pitch. We have a lengthwise half-and-half situation that pleases me.

And it’s halftime. Thank you for listening to my digression. At least we have some heavy hitters on the bench for the second half, if they are up for it.

Second Half

We return for the second half. Hopefully Liverpool have had a nice nap in the dressing room. They quickly get the best chance of the game so far from Andy Robertson, whose shot is sent out for a corner.

The play looks better from the (Liverpool) Reds, who have finally found some motivation here. They spend several minutes pushing into Nottingham’s half, but nothing comes of it.

As expected, Klopp makes some early changes in his team. Endo and Nunez come on for Bobby Clark and Robertson, who had just got himself a yellow card. Nunez has an instant impact, getting around the defenders to the touchline and earning a corner.

Origi gets taken off at 64 minutes to generous cheers and chants from both sets of fans. He’s replaced by another former Liverpool man, Taiwo Awoniyi.

Elanga once again gets a chance on the break, but this time his low shot goes wide.

Gakpo, who’s having a bit of a stinker, now shoots at a very narrow angle on a break when he had Nunez and Elliott both rushing up the middle in support. Gakpo hits the side netting, and the only thing I’m grateful for is that this wasn’t the early game so I didn’t have to wake up at 6am for it.

Mac Allister tries a long but pretty pass over the top to Nunez. The latter gets a head on it, but can’t get the shot on target.

Diaz, likewise, gets another shot off too wide. This is all Liverpool, but the Nottingham defense is holding fast. They need to find a way through.

Szoboszlai makes his return to the pitch at about 75 minutes into this snoozefest. He replaces Elliott, who is not happy.

Kelleher makes a diving save to the far corner to keep Forest from nicking a goal against the run of play.

Ok, now this game can really begin. Off go Gakpo and Conor Bradley, and on come Kostas Tsimikas and new hero Jayden Danns. He starts his time on the pitch by brutally headbutting the Forest goalkeeper. That looks like full concussion territory, yikes. He’s lucky to come away with only a yellow there. I think it’s safe to say he was a bit eager to make his mark on this game.

Maybe the knock to the noggin helped, though, because the goalkeeper makes a big save in stoppage time...against his own player. Which should say something about this game.

WAIT! BUT THEN! It’s Nunez to the rescue in the last moments of the game. Mac Allister, who has shone this week, gets another ball into Nunez. This time, his header is true, and Liverpool finally, finally, FINALLY get their goal.

Final Thoughts

I have to be honest. That last minute lifesaver forced me to rewrite this whole section. The Reds showcase champion behavior by stealing three points from an otherwise shitty match. No matter what happens now, their one goal cushion at the top of the league will remain for another week.