Liverpool snatched victory at Nottingham Forest with Alexis Mac Allister scoring the winning goal in the 97th minute amid late drama at the City Ground.
Mac Allister’s goal was ruled out for handball in the 89th minute and it appeared to give his team a deserved 1-0 victory, but there was no respite for Forest as the Argentine international fired home from close range in stoppage time.
Jamie Carragher called the win “one of the biggest heists” of the Premier League season, after what he called a “horror show” in the first half where Liverpool were completely outclassed as they struggled to adapt to losing Florian Wirths to injury before kick-off.
Vitor Pereira, who was in charge of Forest for the first time in the Premier League, saw his side convert 12 of 14 shots in the first half and should have scored from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s first shot, which was cleared through but Alisson saved.
The match died down after the interval until it caught fire in the final stages. Hugo Ekitike was supposed to beat Stefan Ortega, but Mac Allister seemed to score it anyway, with Ola Aina’s clearance rebounding to him. Replays seemed to suggest it came off the elbow.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Alex Mac Allister hits dramatic late winner against Liverpool at Nottingham Forest
However, Liverpool’s attack was not denied and Mac Allister picked up the loose ball again, but this time VAR did not come to Forest’s aid. Pereira’s side remain two points clear of the drop zone. Liverpool are level on points with Chelsea and Manchester United.
How did the drama develop?
Pereira, aiming to become the first Nottingham Forest manager since Dave Bassett in 1997 to not lose a Premier League game, fielded the same lineup that saw them win away to Fenerbahce on Thursday. There was no lack of sharpness.
In fact, it was the slot side that struggled to cope with the pace of the match. “Liverpool have become a physical monster,” Carragher said. “This team cannot deal with end-to-end situations in the Premier League.” Ibrahim Sangare dominated in midfield.
Ola Aina’s clearance hit Mac Allister and bounced into the net but was disallowed.
Slott may be pointing to the uproar that forced Curtis Jones to play as No. 10 before the experiment was called off just 30 minutes after switching places with Dominik Szoboszlai. However, Liverpool’s performance remained surprisingly poor.
But it’s a weekend with three important points and an advantage over all our rivals. Liverpool are currently six points behind third-placed Aston Villa. For Forest, they remain perilously close to the drop point. But I have hope that if they play like this, they’ll be safe.
Slots: Forest deserve a draw
Liverpool head coach Arne Slott told Sky Sports.
“There is always an element of luck when you score a goal at the last minute. But this season we have experienced the opposite many times. It doesn’t mean we concede at the last minute, which is what happened, but it means we deserve more than what we got.”
“A draw would have been a fairer result for us than a win.
“We lost all the balls in the first half. We couldn’t keep the ball for a second. If we played a long ball, we lost the duel. We lost a lot of second balls. The only thing that worked well in the game was defending in the box. I saw the players throw their bodies to long balls and have to defend set pieces. That’s what we did well and stayed in the game.”
“The second half looked a little different. We took over the game, maybe because they were playing on Thursday? For the first time this season, it was an advantage for us, meaning the opposing team played and we had the week off.”
“Given the way things have been this season, I wouldn’t have been surprised at all even if both goals had been disallowed. But maybe fate has changed, finally.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Alexis Mac Allister’s lucky finish was ruled out as a handball by VAR.
Mac Allister: mixed feelings after victory
Liverpool match winner Alexis Mac Allister told Sky Sports.
“To be honest, I have mixed feelings. I love to score and I love to win. In that sense, today was a really good day. But I don’t think we played very well. There are things we need to improve on, but it’s always nicer when we win.”
As for when the goal that was called off hit him on the elbow, he said: “It certainly happened, but it was tough. It also hit my back. I understand the rules, but this is soccer and it’s very tough.”
Pereira: 1 point wasn’t enough, but 0 points?!
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira told Sky Sports.
“This is football. We played the first half in a great way, but we caused problems. And we deserved to get a couple of goals and had a couple of big chances to score.
“But, of course, we played three days ago against a team that didn’t play in the middle of the week. Our ability to press them wasn’t the same.
“And in the end we conceded a goal. This is football. We have to accept that, but it’s hard to accept disappointment. But the supporters were great and we’ll be even stronger the next day.”
“One point wasn’t enough. Zero points? We don’t deserve this. If we play like we did in the first half, we’ll get a lot of points until the end.”
