Liverpool maintained their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night. Chris Wood put the home side ahead after eight minutes.
Diogo Jota scored with his first touch just after the hour as the Reds hauled themselves level.
A plethora of chances followed for the visitors but they were unable to find the breakthrough to clinch all three points.
Their lead at the top could be cut to just four points when Arsenal take on Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby on Wednesday night. Liverpool will still have a game in hand over their closet rivals, however.
Slot proud but disappointed:
Liverpool had 23 shots with seven on target compared to six efforts from the home side with three on target. Liverpool boss Arne Slot reacted: “I couldn’t have asked for more today. I think most people talk about the second half – that they are really positive about the second half.
“If you ask me, I am also more positive about the second half than the first half, but if you play at this ground against this team, who are in such good form, hardly concedes a chance in every single game – and I have watched many of them back… so many counter-attack threats, almost every game they have counter-attack after counter-attack after counter-attack. We conceded only one counter-attack here today in 98 minutes of football of total domination. Unfortunately for us, that ball immediately went in.
“You have to give credit, again, to Nottingham because the way they defend, they throw themselves in front of shots, in front of every cross and then there is a goalkeeper that has an outstanding season this year and tonight again. Being 1-0 down over here and it’s so hard to score against this team, it’s not what we wanted – we want to have three points, but in the end what I want, what the fans should want and what the players should want is that they give it all they [have] got during every single game they play. That is what they did today, combined with outstanding football in the second half.”
Ex-referee feels Liverpool used ‘unfair’ tactic:
Jota headed home Liverpool’s equaliser after towering above the Forest defence to reach Kostas Tsimkas’ corner. There were suggestions from Steve McManaman that VAR might get involved to rule the goal out due to Cody Gakpo standing in front of the goalkeeper. The Dutchman did not run into the goalkeeper but just stood in his position.
Former referee Keith Hackett believes it is an “unfair” tactic but insisted there was no way Stockley Park could intervene. He said to Football Insider: “Clearly one of the dark arts currently in football is how attacking teams are positioning one of their forwards on the goalkeeper. You will appreciate no one owns any space on a football field. Given these tactics I would have thought that goalkeeping coaches might have found a way to combat and to deal with what I consider an unfair tactic. Looking at replays there is no way that VAR would intervene. The goalkeeper should have made a stronger play for the ball, good goal.”
