Now then, what’s that done to the Premier League table? Not much. Liverpool remain in 10th spot, while Forest rise to 12th. For now. Give it a couple of hours.
Alexander Isak, who scored his fourth Premier League goal for Liverpool in his tenth start for the club, speaks to TNT Sports. “There is no problem in the fighting spirit … we showed that last week as well … we started the game really bad today as well … when we gained momentum, that’s where we need to be … we conceded quite quickly after that … it’s always good to get something out of a game … there’s always time to get used to a new playing style … we are really working hard to play the game he wants us to play … when we start doing that better, I have no doubt the results will come … I am obviously happy to score … every striker wants to score every game he plays … obviously that’s difficult but each game at a time … our fans were amazing … really happy to be back here at home and can’t wait to be back here again.”
Andoni Iraola and Oliver Glasner shake hands, but neither man looks particularly happy. Liverpool again didn’t play well … but on the other hand, Alexander Isak scored a rare goal while Victor Munoz announced himself with an absolute belter, and for the second week in a row, a draw was salvaged. Forest meanwhile earned the big ovation they’re getting from their fans with a staunch performance, and Liam Delap turned in an exciting cameo … though having come so close to their first win of the campaign will sting a little. So it’s swings and roundabouts. Fun match, though; the return at the City Ground is scheduled for 17 April, so scribble that one into your new 2027 diary.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest
A first point of the season for Forest; a second 2-2 draw for Liverpool.
90 min +5: On TNT, Ally McCoist names James McAtee as his player of the match.
90 min +4: Ngumoha loops in from the left. Sels claims and flops to the floor. That might be it.
90 min +3: Munoz and Szoboszlai take turns to cross from the right. Forest deal with both balls.
90 min +2: A double change for Forest, as McAtee and Jesus are replaced by Hudson-Odoi and Dominguez.
90 min +1: Jesus fouls Szoboszlai 35 yards out on the right. The Liverpool vice-captain gets up and takes it himself. In it goes. Also going: the whistle, for some overly excitable work from Isak and Gravenberch.
90 min: There will be five additional minutes.
88 min: Liverpool have had 72 percent possession in the last ten minutes. It’s noisy at Anfield … but also tense. It’s been a really entertaining match.
86 min: Szoboszlai catches the free kick well, but it flies inches wide of the right-hand post. Sels may well have had it covered.
85 min: Gravenberch turns into space and is dragged down by Milenkovic. A free kick just to the left of the Forest D, and Szoboszlai’s eyes light up.
83 min: Forest try to respond immediately, Delap steaming down the inside-left and shooting from the edge of the box. Araujo slides in to deflect wide left, and nothing comes of the resulting corner.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest (Munoz 82)
So much for comfortable! Wirtz finds a little pocket of space, 30 yards out, and slips a pass down the inside right for Munoz, who takes one touch to spin through 180 degrees and whistle a rising drive across Sels, off the underside of the bar, and into the top left! What a blooter! Can the MBM claim an assist?
81 min: Liverpool press Forest back. No way through. Forest appear happy to sit and soak things up. They look comfortable.
79 min: Munoz comes dancing in from the right and should shoot … but doesn’t. Jesus counters down the left and is cynically brought down by Araujo, who hasn’t taken long to find his way into the book.
78 min: Szoboszlai curls a looping cross in from the right. It drops to Isak, who tries to shift his feet when a first-time shot with his right was the only option. The ball sails harmlessly away from danger.
77 min: Liverpool make two more changes, replacing Jacquet and Mac Allister with Araujo and Nyoni.
76 min: Munoz bursts into space down the left and goes over in the vague environs of Aina, who is on a booking. The referee doesn’t give a free kick … but doesn’t give Munoz a second booking for diving either. All a bit odd. “Arne Slot’s legacy will be his abject failure to integrate any defenders/defensive midfielders while simultaneously alienating players like Robertson, TAA etc.,” opines Dechlan Brennan. “The result is what Liverpool offer in defence now.”
74 min: Tsimikas has a dig from distance, and slams his shot straight into the ground. No need for Liverpool to get quite so desperate yet.
73 min: Ngumoah is 18 years old today. Happy birthday?
71 min: A stunned Liverpool make their triple change. Kerkez, Frimpong and Gakpo make way for Gravenberch, Tsimikas and Ngumoah.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Gibbs-White 70 pen)
Gibbs-White, to a cacophony of whistling, smashes the spot kick into the left-hand portion of the net. Alisson was sent the wrong way. Gibbs-White celebrates by sticking his fingers in his ears. Forest are at it again!
69 min: Alisson is booked for the challenge. He’s not happy, presumably with the delay of the Liverpool subs, because he surely can’t have any argument over the challenge, which wiped out Williams.
68 min: Iraola is fuming, because the fourth official hasn’t got his act together with the sub boards, and the game restarts. Delap takes a quick thrown down the left for Williams, who tries to chip Alisson. The ball sails wide right, but he’s clattered by Alisson and the referee points to the spot!
67 min: Gakpo again crosses long … too long. And it looks like Liverpool are finally going to make that triple change.
66 min: The first change of the afternoon, as Forest new boy Delap comes on for Ndoye.
65 min: From a deep position on the left, Wirtz launches a diagonal for Isak, who can’t quite get the ball under control. Goal kick. Isak would have probably been flagged offside anyway.
63 min: Szoboszlai hoicks a wild shot over the bar from 25 yards. Meanwhile there had been some action on the Liverpool bench – Iraola was preparing a triple change – but the goal has put paid to that for the time being, and everyone’s sat down again.
61 min: Kerkez rakes a long diagonal to Gakpo down the right. Gakpo takes a heavy touch and is shepherded out of play. Goal kick. The Kop continues to bounce nevertheless.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Isak 60)
Wirtz rolls a pass down the inside-right channel for Gakpo, who spins past two defenders at once, strides into the box, and rolls across for Isak, who can’t miss from a couple of yards. Out of nothing, Liverpool are level, and Anfield is making some noise again!
58 min: Murillo breaks from the back down the middle, and is cynically tripped by Wirtz. Perhaps something he should have thought about when Wissa was steaming upfield at the Toon last weekend.
57 min: Gakpo crosses long from the right. Too long. Throw to Forest. The Kop groans loudly. And from that red nightmare, to this from pop-picker Stephen McCrossan: “Further to Peadar de Burca’s comment about Sorcerer, the film also benefits from an absolutely brilliant soundtrack by German synth behemoths Tangerine Dream.”
55 min: Ndoye makes good down the left, reaches the byline, and whistles a low cross along the corridor of uncertainty. Alisson is stranded, but Gibbs-White hasn’t continued his run. Had he kept up, he’d be tapping home.
54 min: Munoz is booked for dissent, having just been penalised for shoving over Cunha. Liverpool are already showing signs of irritation, Van Dijk having just bollocked Kerkez for not standing in the right place.
53 min: Frimpong slams two crosses into the nearest opponent in short order. Then on the opposite flank, Kerkez passes straight out of play. Liverpool missing Trent and peak Andy Robertson, it has to be said.
51 min: Aina is booked for smashing into Munoz on the left touchline. Szoboszlai looks for the head of Van Dijk with the resulting free kick, but Sels punches confidently clear.
49 min: Gakpo advances down the right and crosses long for Munoz, who heads harmlessly over. Then the flag pops up for offside. It’s been a lively start to the second half. “Have you seen the 1977 movie The Sorcerer?” asks Peadar de Burca. “No, it’s not a fantasy epic, but a gritty existential thriller about driving nitro glycerine through a jungle. Might be a worthwhile watch for all Liverpool fans this season.”
48 min: Munoz crosses from the left. Wirtz shapes to flick a shot goalwards, only for Williams to get in, just in time, to block. Forest counter, and Ndoye chases down the right, barges Frimpong out of the way – legally this time – only to scuff a shot wide right.
47 min: Szoboszlai wins a corner down the right, from which nothing comes.
46 min: Frimpong is shoved over by Ndoye, who races clear! Alisson parries the resulting shot, and then the whistle goes for the foul. Not sure why the referee waited. Not a dissimilar challenge to Liverpool’s first-half penalty shout, it should be noted.
Liverpool get the ball rolling again. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this second half, as is their wont. No changes.
Half-time postbag. “In a football related WhatsApp group I’m a part of, Liverpool are currently getting stick from a Spurs fan. That’s where we are. Barcola has his work cut out!” – Matt Dony
“Re the penalty shout, that’s a foul anywhere else on the field. But the ref (in the first half for sure) doesn’t want to give a pen and a red card - no attempt to play the ball. So... nothing” – Gary Naylor
“Bradley Barcola is currently googling ‘how to fail a medical’” – Niall Mullen
HALF TIME: Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Same old, same old. Forest are 45 minutes plus stoppages from completing a trifecta at Anfield.
45 min +3: Aina chops his way past Munoz down the right and cuts back for Jesus, who has a fierce whack from the penalty spot. The power is surely going to beat Alisson … but somehow the keeper turns the ball onto the crossbar and out for a corner! That’s an astonishing save! Nothing comes of the corner.
45 min +2: Frimpong combines crisply with Gakpo down the right, before hesitating over an opportunity to shoot from the edge of the box. He’s dispossessed. But he’s been Liverpool’s most lively player in an otherwise miserable half for the hosts.
45 min +1: The first of three additional first-half minutes plays out to almost pin-drop silence.
45 min: Gakpo nutmegs Williams down the right and cuts back for Szoboszlai, who dummies for Isak … but the striker can’t react, so Munoz takes a touch instead and powerfully curls towards the top right. It’s inches wide and high. As close as Liverpool have come, if you disregard the disallowed goal.
44 min: Mac Allister bursts away from Jesus, who lazily clatters him from behind and earns the first yellow card of the afternoon.
43 min: Forest aren’t giving Liverpool a moment’s peace. The hosts can’t get anything going.
41 min: Liverpool enjoy a period of prolonged possession in the Forest half … but the visitors hold their shape and there’s no way into the final third. The hosts getting frustrated with the low block: Forest now have Liverpool where they want them, coiled to counter at any given time.
39 min: Gakpo, who has been very quiet, crosses from the right. Wirtz rises and heads goalwards. Sels tips over the bar spectacularly. Nothing comes of the corner. But Liverpool have been better since going behind. They could scarcely have been any worse, to be fair.
38 min: Mac Allister nicks Ndoye to the ground and Liverpool are fortunate nothing comes of the resulting free kick. Liverpool need a defensive midfielder, like this hasn’t been news for about four years.
36 min: Forest are on the attack, but Wirtz controls a clearing header and dinks a cute pass down the left. Munoz is off, flying! He makes it all the way to the Forest box before feeling Cunha’s hand on his back. He goes over, but doesn’t get the penalty he wants. You’ve seen them given, because it wouldn’t have taken much to knock Munoz off his feet, the speed at which he was travelling. Anfield livid.
Turns out Frimpong was a smidgen offside when retrieving Wirtz’s initial miscontrol. His ankle ahead of Aina in the middle. That’s a shame for Wirtz, who really needs a goal. Will the episode give Liverpool a semblance of succour, though?
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Wirtz 32)
Out of nothing! Frimpong takes matters into his own hands, dribbling hard down the inside-right channel. He looks for Wirtz, who miscontrols, but Frimpong comes back and finds his man at the second attempt. Wirtz swivels and whips into the bottom left corner. Anfield erupts!
31 min: Murillo loses the ball, 35 yards out, allowing Mac Allister to advance on the Forest box. Mac Allister slips Isak in on the left; the striker is lucky to win a corner with a deflection, from which nothing comes. Sels still hasn’t had a save to make.
29 min: Frimpong cuts back from the byline on the right. Szoboszlai shoots; Schlager blocks. A few groans now, less than half an hour into the new season at Anfield.
28 min: Munoz makes a nuisance of himself down the left and draws a clumsy foul from Aina. It’s effectively a corner. Szoboszlai to take. He tries to surprise Sels by whipping to the far corner, but Sels parries and, after some head tennis, his defenders clear.
26 min: Liverpool try to bounce back immediately, Szoboszlai slaloming down the middle before slipping Kerkez into space down the left. Kerkez’s cross is no good and easily cleared. Anfield, so noisy at kick off, is pretty quiet now. The Forest fans excepted, of course.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest (Ndoye 24)
Sels launches long down the middle. Jesus wins the ball 25 yards out and lays off to Gibbs-White. The ball’s fed left to Ndoye, who opens his body and whips a lovely finish into the bottom right. Alisson no chance. Easy as that, and it had been coming.
23 min: At least that’s put Liverpool on the xG chart, now with a whopping 0.01. Forest are up to 0.77, for the record.
22 min: Munoz tries again, this time cutting in from the flank and aiming a curler towards the top right. He doesn’t quite catch it, and it’s easily blocked by the nearest defender.
20 min: Munoz is fast, and turns on the jets down the left … but he’s not getting any change out of Cunha. Liverpool have had just the one touch in the Forest box, and Isak should have taken a shot with it.
19 min: McAtee spins into space on the right and swings across to Ndoye, who gives Frimpong a sly little nudge before guiding an expert header across Alisson and inches wide of the right-hand post. The keeper wasn’t getting to that. Forest getting closer and closer.
17 min: Nothing comes of the Forest corner. Liverpool counter, Szoboszlai cheekily nutmegging Schlager before trying to release Isak down the centre. The flag correctly pops up for offside. Very little of this game is being played in the middle of the park.
16 min: Gibbs-White clanks Kerkez, who was in the process of spinning around him. He’s slightly fortunate not to go into the book, but gets up in the referee’s grille instead. He’d do well to take it down a notch. But then, Forest are flying with their intense approach, and quickly launch another attack, Jesus having a snapshot from the right deflected wide of goal by Kerkez.
14 min: The early xG reflects Forest’s early dominance: Liverpool 0, Forest 0.57. “Don’t get me wrong now,” begins Ben Bernards, “I’m not Liverpool fan, but as YNWA was being sung there you could see Iraola was quietly reflecting proudly on where he’s sitting. So, that was nice.”
12 min: Aina races into space down the right and crosses long. Ndoye heads back infield from the far post, and Jesus prepares to poke home … only for Jacquet to suddenly arrive and block out for a corner. Nothing comes from the set piece. Forest look dangerous.
10 min: Mac Allister has the chance to release Wirtz into a pocket of space down the right, but his pass is poor.
9 min: A long Van Dijk pass down the middle nearly releases Isak. Cunha does exceptionally well to stick to the striker’s shoulder in a high-paced chase, and eventually the ball clanks out off Isak for a goal kick. This game is wide open.
7 min: Mac Allister, quarterbacking from deep, rolls a defence-splitting pass down the inside-right channel to find Isak in space, just inside the box. Isak needs to shoot quickly, but opts to take a touch and is smothered.
5 min: Sels launches long, and Jesus and Ndoye nearly open Liverpool up with a combination down the inside-left channel. Jacquet is on point to intercept and clear, albeit in a slightly nervous style. Both teams looking lively.
3 min: Frimpong one-twos with Wirtz down the right. A lovely reverse wedged pass from Wirtz. Munoz and Isak are in the middle, but Frimpong’s cross is no good. Lovely start to the move, though.
2 min: Forest have started confidently, hogging possession for the first couple of minutes. They haven’t silenced the home crowd yet, but a few more minutes of this might start a bit of concerned muttering. You know how people fret.
Forest get the game started. The ball sails out of play on the left. And while we’re mentioning tributes, Forest fans earlier laid flowers at the Hillsborough memorial to pay their respects.
The teams are out! Liverpool all in red, Forest wearing a third-choice shirt that looks awfully like a recent Manchester City number. You’ll Never Walk Alone rings out, as Liverpool principal owner John Henry and the new vice-chairman Amit Bhatia watch from the stand. We’ll be off in a minute … and that minute will see fans remember the legendary Kevin Keegan, the star of Bill Shankly’s second great team, who recently passed. The warmest applause from all four corners of the ground, a mosaic on the Kop that reads KEVIN 7, and a chant of One Kevin Keegan.
On the subject of Forest and big-money transfers … David Ornstein of the Athletic was on TNT Sports earlier, reporting the possibility of their buying 19-year-old midfield prospect Harrison Armstrong from Everton for £40m. Should that come to pass, it’ll probably result in the Hill Dickinson toppling into the Mersey, but only after the whole structure is launched a couple of miles into the air by the steam from Everton supporters’ lugs. Armstrong is extremel y highly rated, but Forest have pockets full of cash after selling Elliot Anderson to Manchester City, so this one is worth keeping an eye on.
Oliver Glasner – who has yet to get the best of former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola in the personal head-to-head (P5 W0 D3 L2) – speaks to TNT Sports. “The biggest improvement is we need a goal to win the game … this is what we want to do … of course Liverpool, always playing at Anfield is very challenging … but maybe a new manager with new ideas, all is not settled 100 percent … that is similar to us … [Liam Delap] had one training session with the team … but it’s great to have him here … let’s see how the game is going … let’s see how the game is going but there is a good chance to see him.”
Pre-match postbag. “As a Liverpool fan I’m happy to have Iraola, but shudder at what must be a bit of a mess of a team upstairs. It’s seems ridiculous that we we have such a wealth of attacking talent, yet all of them are either injured or have been out of form/sorts/not fitting the system for a long time (a season in the case of Isak and Wirtz). In that context, I get why we’ve gone for Barcola (and am enjoying the Barr Cola memes) but I really really wish we’d buy some defenders. I doubt Arsenal will sell Zubimendi, I wouldn’t say no to him either. As much as some of us would love Trent back, I don’t see that happening. Expect we’re in for another transition season. At least with Iraola it won’t be dull” – Tony Barr (no relation)
“Liverpool need at least eight new starting XI players before they even start looking at squad members; Iraola’s gonna seriously regret going up there” – Dave Estherby
“Good to see Liverpool have learnt their lessons from last summer then. £123m for Barcola is ridiculous” – Joshua Keeling
Barcola will certainly be put to work when he arrives at Anfield. Iraola sets out the load with this pace-and-eyebrow-raising manifesto.
“For me, wingers, forwards, I always tell them that they don’t need to give us 90 minutes. I tell them it is good news when they are exhausted because then we have taken everything from you and someone else will come in.”
A Spanish take on Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal. Flamenco ? The Basque tradition of trikitixa ? Probably need to think about this some more. Or never again.
Related: Andoni Iraola tells Liverpool’s forwards to ‘exhaust themselves’
Iraola will have another nice selection problem soon. News broke this morning of Liverpool finalising a deal, at long last, for PSG winger Bradley Barcola. Once the last hoop has been jumped through – a medical this weekend – one of the summer’s most tedious … no, let’s be nice … slowly unfolding tales will come to its natural end.
Related: Bradley Barcola due for medical as Liverpool finalise £123m deal for winger
Andoni Iraola takes charge of his first competitive match at Anfield as Liverpool manager this lunchtime, and he speaks to TNT Sports. “Emotional in my case … obviously it’s a game we want to win … you are focusing on the pitch … but for me it’s a special game, definitely, yes … it has to be difficult for me to choose a starting XI … what changes we can make in the second half … what the subs can provide … they were important against Newcastle and I hope today they are also important.”
Liverpool make two changes to the side that drew 2-2 at Newcastle United last weekend. Alexis Mac Allister replaces Ryan Gravenberch in midfield, while Victor Munoz makes his full debut by taking over stand-in duties on the right wing from Rio Ngumoha. Cody Gakpo, who impressed last weekend but is now the subject of a £70m bid from Tottenham, retains his place amid the chatter.
Nottingham Forest make one change to the team that lost 1-0 on the opening day at home to Leeds United. Ibrahim Sangaré is injured and so makes way in midfield for Xaver Schlager, who makes his first Premier League start. Liam Delap, their new £50m signing from Chelsea, starts on the bench.
Related: ‘I can’t wait’: Liam Delap seals £45m Nottingham Forest move from Chelsea
Liverpool: Alisson, Frimpong, Jacquet, van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Munoz, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Endo, Tsimikas, Araujo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Cunha, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Schlager, McAtee, Williams, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus.
Subs: John Victor, Diomande, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Wood, Delap, Yates, Netz, Abbott.
On days like these, Arne Slot will be thankful that Liverpool gave him the old heave-ho. Because this specific fixture messed with his mind something chronic. In an otherwise sensational start to his time with the Reds – 18 wins out of his first 20 games – the one L blotting up Slot’s landscape was Nottingham Forest at Anfield . Liverpool had 70 percent of possession that September afternoon in 2024, but Forest soaked it up and Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a wonderful winner on the counter. Slot never stopped referencing it , an itch he couldn’t scratch.
The following autumn, Forest rocked up at Anfield again, and this time routed Slot’s side 3-0 . That was part of a different kind of sensational sequence – nine losses in 12 – from which his reign never recovered. So Liverpool fans can be forgiven for approaching this match with caution and concern, and that’s before we get to their disjointed performance at Newcastle last week , and the fact that Oliver Glasner (P7 W4 D1 with Crystal Palace) seemingly has their number. Having said all that, Forest haven’t exactly flown out of the traps under their new boss, with back-to-back losses to Leeds in league and cup , and there’s one other famous staging of this fixture that will give Liverpool fans hope. So this isn’t an easy one to predict. Kick-off is at 12.30pm BST. It’s on!
Alexander Isak, who scored his fourth Premier League goal for Liverpool in his tenth start for the club, speaks to TNT Sports. “There is no problem in the fighting spirit … we showed that last week as well … we started the game really bad today as well … when we gained momentum, that’s where we need to be … we conceded quite quickly after that … it’s always good to get something out of a game … there’s always time to get used to a new playing style … we are really working hard to play the game he wants us to play … when we start doing that better, I have no doubt the results will come … I am obviously happy to score … every striker wants to score every game he plays … obviously that’s difficult but each game at a time … our fans were amazing … really happy to be back here at home and can’t wait to be back here again.”
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Scott Murray. Published 29 Aug 2026, 01:39 pm.
