Nottingham Forest brought an end to their winless league run in style as they toppled Liverpool 1-0 at the City Ground.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal proved to be the difference between the two sides. But it was a superb all-round team effort by the Reds to clinch the three points.
The first half performance was chalk and cheese compared to the Reds’ display at Brighton and Hove Albion in midweek. Positive from the off, they played with aggression and intent, and caused the visitors problems.
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Forest went the entire first half against the Seagulls without mustering a single effort at goal. Against Liverpool, they had three on target before the break.
Cheikhou Kouyate drew Alisson into action with 20 minutes gone, after Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi had combined. The latter then forced a save a few minutes later, following a charge up the pitch by Scott McKenna. And Awoniyi was at the heart of the action again on the half hour, teeing up Jesse Lingard.
Liverpool did have a couple of big chances of their own in the opening 45 minutes, however. Dean Henderson denied Fabio Carvalho with less than 10 minutes gone, following a ball over the top. And Virgil Van Dijk made a mess of a golden opportunity when he put a free header well wide.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Reds took the lead through Awoniyi. Steve Cook sent a Gibbs-White free-kick across goal, and although the front man’s first effort bounced off the post, he tapped in the rebound.
Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson had chances to increase that advantage. But Henderson had to make a crucial save late on to deny Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk.Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at the City Ground.
Dean Henderson: Made some really important saves, including denying Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk late on. Big clean-sheet. Rating: 8.5/10
Serge Aurier: Contributed to a really good, all-round team performance. Pushed forward well while staying alert defensively. Rating: 7.5/10
Steve Cook: A colossus at the back, letting nothing through. At the other end of the pitch, was picked out well by Gibbs-White’s free-kick to put the ball in for Awoniyi’s goal. Rating: 8.5/10
Scott McKenna: Starting to find the form of last season again. Rock-like in defence and made a good forward run to keep Forest on the front foot. Rating: 8.5/10
Neco Williams: Deservedly got a chant of ‘Neco, Neco, Neco’ when he came off. Stood firm and put in a good performance against his former club. Rating: 7.5/10
Cheikhou Kouyate: Absolutely superb. Covered every blade of grass and never stopped running. Performance was summed up by a lung-busting run which set up a chance for Johnson in the second half. Rating: 8.5/10
Ryan Yates: Brilliant once again. Set the tone by getting stuck in straight away and didn’t let up until the final whistle. Has really stepped up in the last few games. Rating: 8.5/10
Remo Freuler: Showed his class at times and his workrate was tremendous. Midfield trio were excellent throughout, winning countless balls. Rating: 8/10
Morgan Gibbs-White: Involved in some lovely passages of play and looked lively. Showed bags of commitment to help out defensively. Rating: 8/10
Taiwo Awoniyi: Made such a difference having him back in the side. Central to much of Forest’s positive play and showed good instincts for his goal. Rating: 8.5/10
Jesse Lingard: No shortage of effort, but touch let him down in promising moments - not least with a good chance in the first half which he would expect to have done better with. Rating: 6/10
Subs
Brennan Johnson (for Lingard, 64mins): Forced a decent save and ran his socks off in the final half hour. Rating: 7.5/10
Joe Worrall (for Awoniyi, 64mins): Played his part in a very valuable, and much-needed, clean-sheet and victory. Rating: 7.5/10
Renan Lodi (for Williams, 72mins): Helped to see out the closing minutes. Good to see him back after injury. Rating: 7/10
Orel Mangala (for Kouyate, 80mins): More minutes under his belt and got straight into the thick of the action. Rating: 7/10
Subs not used: Hennessey, Biancone, Surridge, Dennis, Boly.
Who was your Forest man of the match? Have your say in the comments below
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