Arne Slot got his first taste of defeat as Liverpool boss on Saturday as his side lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, with visiting manager Nuno Espirito Santo out-foxing the Dutchman in a fascinating encounter.
Forest got their tactics spot on, packing the centre of midfield and crowding out Liverpool’s wide players.
And although the home side had some decent chances in the first half, they were not clinical enough in front of goal.
In the end, a superb second-half goal from substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi gave Forest the biggest surprise win of the league season so far at Anfield.
The home side dominated the opening half and Luis Diaz hit a post in the 17th minute, but too often the Liverpool attackers found themselves on different wavelengths, and much of their play lacked their usual fluidity as chances went begging.
Thank you for your incredible support today, Reds 👏
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) September 14, 2024
We keep building together 💪 pic.twitter.com/aZYUJZlHzQ
Their wastefulness was punished in the 72nd minute as Anthony Elanga found his fellow substitute Hudson-Odoi with a brilliant crossfield ball, and the 23-year-old winger cut inside before curling a tremendous effort past goalkeeper Alisson.
Having convincingly won all of their opening three league games under Arne Slot without conceding a goal, Liverpool looked short of ideas as they sought to come back. A Virgil van Dijk header from a corner that flew over was the closest they came to an equaliser.
Of his first defeat in charge as Reds boss, Slot says: “The result frustrates the most, and we cannot be happy about how the game went. It was a stop-start game and we hardly created any chances.
“We only have to look at ourselves – we have to be better. Far too many times we lost the ball around the area, it was not good enough. We have to be better with the ball.”
Daily Voice