A questionable offside call brought a brilliant FA Cup run to an end. But Nottingham Forest's season, and this team's journey, is far from over.
In fact, the serious stuff is only just about to get started. The big prize is still tantalisingly within reach. The best could still be to come.
On any other day, in different circumstances, the halting of a nine-match unbeaten run could have felt like a blip in the road; a potential momentum-disrupter. But this one... This one was as heroic a defeat as you could get. It has to be a springboard to even greater accomplishments.
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Reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup is no mean feat, more so when you count Arsenal and Leicester City among your scalps. Right from the third round, head coach Steve Cooper has taken the competition seriously. It has tied into his approach of trying to create a winning mentality; of going into every game, no matter who the opponent, with a belief and a plan to win.
Forest almost, almost did against Liverpool. They took the fight to the Premier League title-contenders and pushed them every inch of the way.
Twenty-three years had passed since the two teams' previous meeting. Perform to that standard in their final 10 league fixtures, and there's every chance fans won't have to wait quite so long for the next encounter.
That this display came in front of the watchful eye of owner Evangelos Marinakis will only have strengthened the club's resolve. Promotion has been the Greek's ambition ever since he took over in 2017. Sunday evening will have given everyone a real taste of what could be possible.
Class acts
The Reds have designs on reaching the top-flight as they prepare for one last push for the top six after this international break. Going toe-to-toe with Liverpool showed they have a group more than capable of gracing the biggest stage.
Joe Worrall, in particular, was outstanding. A magnificent team effort limited the visitors to very little, and it was skipper Worrall who led by example.
He marshalled the back line superbly and covered so much ground, so as not to give his opponents an inch. On top of that, there was an incredible tackle in the first half to thwart Diogo Jota and a last-ditch clearance after Ethan Horvath - who impressed again - had pulled off a stunning save from Roberto Firmino.
Worrall wasn't the only one to show his quality, though. James Garner and Ryan Yates were magnificent in midfield. Brennan Johnson and Djed Spence had their moments. And Keinan Davis was a handful for the Liverpool back line.
Throughout their FA Cup run, Forest haven’t looked out of place against heavyweight opposition at all.
Squad strength
Cooper was without four key players for the big tie. Lewis Grabban, Steve Cook, Max Lowe and Scott McKenna are all sidelined with injury.
Cook and McKenna made their way across the City Ground pitch pre-match to go and watch the game - greeted by a round of applause and a big cry of ‘you Reds’. That the former was without the protective boot and crutches he had used when attending Wednesday night’s victory over QPR was good to see.
Being without such an integral quartet has been a blow. But Forest have shown they have others capable of stepping up in their absence.
Davis and Sam Surridge have already chipped in up front while Grabban has been out. Jack Colback again did a job at left-back - even up against top-class opposition - in place of Lowe. And with Cook and McKenna missing, Cooper switched to a four-man defence against Liverpool, with Tobias Figueiredo doing superbly in only his second appearance of 2022.
Perhaps the biggest plus, though, was the performance of Joe Lolley. The winger looked back to his old self, fully repaying the manager’s faith for including him in the starting XI. A fit and firing Lolley can be a huge asset in the season’s run-in.
Marinakis meeting
The last time the Reds owner made the trip to the City Ground was back in March 2020, when Sabri Lamouchi was still in charge.
Forest were in the play-offs hunt then, too. And just like on Sunday night, they were also beaten as Marinakis watched from the directors’ box.
This time, however, it felt different. When the hosts lost to Millwall on that Friday night, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, they were already starting to stumble. And they never regained any momentum once the season restarted.
Falling to Liverpool doesn’t feel like it could in any way dent this team’s campaign. They can push on from it; belief and confidence should be strengthened by the way they rose to the challenge.
Marinakis shook Cooper’s hand on the pitch at full-time and the pair had a brief chat. The Greek only had positive things to say, according to the head coach.
That performance should only underline to the owner the importance of Cooper and this squad to trying to realise his ambition.
Awesome atmosphere
It’s becoming almost a regular occurrence to comment on the buzz around a sold-out City Ground. But this weekend, the place really was electric.
Mull of Kintyre was so, so loud. The fans never stopped singing all game. And they stayed to applaud every single player off the pitch at the end, no doubt full of pride that everything had been left out there. No regrets. Nothing held back. A special night, even in defeat.
There were missed chances and ‘what ifs’, of course. What if Philip Zinckernagel’s shot had gone a few inches the other way? What if Ryan Yates’ header had gone in? What if the penalty shout had been given or a dubious offside call not gone against the hosts?
But there can be no question marks over whether this side are promotion contenders. This season still has plenty more to offer - and that may yet include a trip to Wembley.
