Nottingham Forest made it 11 games without a win as they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Liverpool despite an improved performance.
The game was littered with defensive lapses and, after the visitors quickly equalised twice through former Liverpool defender Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White, Mohamed Salah secured victory for the home team.
Even then Liverpool’s progress to within six points of fourth-placed Newcastle was almost scuppered when Brennan Johnson lobbed Alisson Becker but was denied by the crossbar.
Here's a look at how the national media reported on the game...
READ MORE: Match of the Day pundit tears into Forest defending
READ MORE: Cooper issues Reds rallying cry after defeat
Daily Telegraph
The season is ending too soon for Diogo Jota. He waited a year for a goal. Now he has four in five days to ensure Liverpool’s Champions League hopes still have a pulse, writes Chris Bascombe.
A week ago, there were questions about where Jota will fit into Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool reboot when a full contingent of strikers are available.
The assumption is Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez will be the preferred options with Mohamed Salah by August. There are no such guarantees, Klopp arguing the era of a predictable Liverpool front three ended when Sadio Mane left and Roberto Firmino began his year-long farewell tour. Having promised the remainder of this campaign will be a taster session for next season, Klopp’s faith in Jota is a signal of how ferocious the competition for a starting place in Liverpool’s attacking trio is becoming.
This has been an important week for the Portuguese striker. He has issued a timely and much needed reminder he is not at Anfield to be an understudy.
The Times
The future is upon us, Jürgen Klopp had declared before this contest, writes Paul Joyce. The sight of Steven Gerrard’s son, Lio, taking a penalty in front of the Kop after his famous father had overseen a half-time shoot-out competition was perhaps a glimpse of what Anfield could look forward to in another time. Otherwise, this was an occasion anchored very much in the present.
Liverpool made hard work of showcasing their superiority and owed much to Diogo Jota’s predatory powers kicking back in, as the striker took his tally for the week to four goals having previously gone a year without finding the net.
As for Nottingham Forest, they were again guilty of displaying the sort of defensive naivety that undermined the intent they mustered.
The Guardian
Steve Cooper walked off shaking his head and puffing out his cheeks, his despair plain to see, writes Andy Hunter. Nottingham Forest caused mayhem at Anfield but a self-destructive streak at set-pieces ruined any hope their display generated for the fight against relegation. Liverpool accepted the gifts gratefully to rack up the 100th home league win of Jürgen Klopp’s reign.
An 11th game without a win left Forest second from bottom and their manager a picture of simmering frustration. A valuable point was tantalisingly close against a Liverpool team unable to cope with Moussa Niakhaté’s long throws and taking evasive defensive action in the closing stages. Their own inability to defend set-pieces cost them.
Daily Mail
Jurgen Klopp's arms were whirring like the blades of helicopter, the message behind the gesture obvious as the seconds ticked down, writes Dominic King.
Liverpool were leading Nottingham Forest 3-2 but Klopp, having seen a raft of long throws from Moussa Niakhate cause panic in his defence, didn’t radiate the confidence of a manager who felt his side were primed to see out the job. So he screeched and he gestured: “Get back! Get back!”
Ultimately, the message got through. Liverpool had recorded back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since February and their push to pilfer a European place retains impetus but Klopp, by the end, was breathless as Steve Cooper’s gallant team made life extremely uncomfortable.
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