Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool ended 1-0 as the Jurgen Klopp men failed to live up to expectation again

Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal to sink Liverpool in the Premier League encounter this afternoon.

NOTTINGHAM CITY GROUND — Liverpool’s winless road streak in the Premier League currently runs at five games after a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Jurgen Klopp’s day began at 5:15 a.m., with Thiago Alcantara reporting an ear illness that forced him to miss this one, and Darwin Nunez failing a late fitness test. Liverpool were missing three of their four best forwards, the same number in midfield, and three of their five top defenders due to a large injury list and some rotation.

However, they were in relatively high spirits, having picked up back-to-back wins against Manchester City and West Ham United in the last week. The absentees told, though, with a frustrating performance in which there was a real dearth of quality chances.

Forest — who were rooted to the foot of the table and without a victory in nine — were the better side in the first half. Liverpool dominated possession, but the intensity was completely lacking, while the East Midlands club were predictably up for it, biting into every challenge with ferocity and creating solid chances on the break.

Morgan Gibbs-White showed his class, turning on the style with balls flicked round the corner and hunting for the killer through ball. He combined that with constant harrying, always on the case of the Liverpool back seven, while breaking forward with energy on the counter. On the opposite flank, Serge Aurier had a similarly impressive half dealing with Fabio Carvalho.

Liverpool started the second period with a much-needed spring in their step, but Taiwo Awoniyi quickly put a stop to it. The guy who scored the goal in Forest’s only other win this season — against West Ham United here in August — did it again.

Joe Gomez brought down the Nigerian striker viciously on the halfway line just as he appeared to have found an open path for goal. The following free-kick found its way to the left flank, where it was sent low to Awoniyi, whose first attempt was saved by Alisson. The rebound, though, landed pleasantly for the No.9, who made no mistake on the second try.

The three points move Forest over local rivals Leicester City into 19th place, while Liverpool are 11 points behind leaders Arsenal despite having played one more game.

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool ended 1-0 as the Jurgen Klopp men failed to live up to expectation again