Darwin Núñez secured a dramatic last-minute victory for Premier League leaders Liverpool, propelling them to a wild 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Liverpool has been marked by an extraordinary challenge, with the team’s pursuit of a quadruple hampered by a relentless series of injuries in recent weeks.
The squad is facing unprecedented strain as they strive to overcome these setbacks and secure success on multiple fronts.
Once again, Liverpool found themselves without several key players, including the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, and Diogo Jota.
However, a glimmer of hope emerged as Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai made their return, coming on as second-half substitutes.
In a dramatic turn of events, Nunez proved to be the hero with a decisive impact. Virtually with the last touch of the game, he rose to flick home Alexis Mac Allister’s cross, securing Liverpool’s first victory at the City Ground since 1984.
For an insightful breakdown of the match, Nottingham Forest correspondent for Nottinghamshire Live/Nottingham Post, Sarah Clapson (@Sarah_Clapson) is here to provide analysis.
Nottingham Forest came close to securing a point but Darwin Nunez scored late for Liverpool. What’s your general overview of the game?
Sarah Clapson: From Forest’s point of view it was a really frustrating one. They created some good chances but couldn’t put them away. Liverpool had some good opportunities, too, but Forest had defended well until the final minute or so of the game.
The main source of frustration for Forest, though, was over what happened towards the end when the referee gave the ball to Caoimhin Kelleher after he had stopped play for a potential head injury when Forest were in possession.
It was a pivotal moment as it allowed Liverpool to go on the attack and they went on to score. The goal didn’t come straight away, but Forest argued the final moments could have unfolded differently if they had been given the ball back.
Forest had fought hard throughout and had chances to win it themselves at the City Ground. Do you think they have themselves to blame?
Sarah Clapson: They will definitely be kicking themselves for not making the most of their chances. When you don’t take those opportunities, you always run the risk of being punished at the other end of the pitch, especially against teams like Liverpool.
Forest know they should have cleared the ball before it got to Nunez. But they feel the final minutes could still have panned out differently if they had got the ball back when the referee stopped play for the potential head injury to Ibrahima Konate.
After the game, it was reported that Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had to be restrained by security after chasing referee Paul Tierney down the tunnel. How true is the story?
Sarah Clapson: The club have dismissed the reports Marinakis “chased” the referee down the tunnel and had to be “restrained by security”.
Are you impressed with the work Nuno Espírito Santo has done so far at the club and how do you rate Forest’s chances of escaping relegation?
Sarah Clapson: Forest have generally been playing well under Nuno. They have been competitive in most of the games they have played under him, even if they haven’t always got the result they would have liked.
They still have work to do and they do need to start picking up more wins, but they do have cause for encouragement. The big uncertainty surrounds any potential points deduction. Until there is clarity on that, it is difficult to know how important or how costly certain results will be in Forest’s fight to stay up.
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