Substitute Diogo Jota’s header within seconds of coming on denied Nottingham Forest victory over Liverpool in a pulsating 1-1 draw at the City Ground.
Chris Wood had given Forest a dream top-four lead in the eighth minute and it looked like they could knock out the Premier League leaders with a superb display.
But Jota came to the rescue of Arne Slot’s side to earn a deserved draw, with Forest stopper Matz Sels making a series of superb saves to earn a point for the hosts.
The draw means Liverpool maintain their six-point lead at the top of the table, with Forest above second-placed Arsenal ahead of tomorrow’s North London derby.
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool
Wood sent the City Ground into pandemonium in the eighth minute through a typically devastating counter-attack after spending much of the previous seven minutes fending off pressure from the league leaders.
Anthony Elanga’s ball found the New Zealand international, who took a touch before coolly slotting past Alisson for his 13th of the season.
Just listen to that roar 🔊
Chris Wood opens the scoring for Nottingham Forest through a perfectly executed break 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/pFyMCc3zLl
— Soccer on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Liverpool continued to dominate the ball with 71% possession in the first half, but were unable to convert any of their nine first-half attempts, with Luis Diaz guilty of two offsides.
The hosts remained useful despite seeing little of the ball. Murillo wasn’t far behind shortly after Wood’s goal with a great effort as the first half ended leaving Arne Slot with a lot to think about.
Jota saves Liverpool
Much of the same continued in the second half as Liverpool continued to struggle to break down a stubborn Forest defence, until the introduction of Jota just after the hour mark.
Within 30 seconds of being brought on to save the game in place of defender Ibrahima Konate, the Portuguese striker was in the perfect position to head into the corner from close range to draw Liverpool level.
The 28-year-old was then denied the chance to put the visitors in front after cutting inside, before his shot was saved by Matz Sels in the Forest net.
The definition of instant impact 😤
Diogo Jota scores with his first touch of the game just 25 seconds after going to bed ⏰
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/vaEVR0hIGD
— Soccer on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Jota continued to spearhead Liverpool’s push for a winner but was once again halted by the brilliance of Sels, who stretched wide and produced a superb close-range save with just over 10 minutes to play.
However, Forest were not about to let go of a famous victory as Elanga’s ball across goal was only evaded by Jota Silva inside 6 yards.
Mohamed Salah then looked to have finally found his shooting boots on 88 minutes but was unable to convert three big chances, the first two thanks to another Sels save and a block on the line by Ola Aina, before unable to hold the left leg. volleyball down.
Belgian stopper Sels was on hand to keep the score going late on again as Dominik Szoboszlai’s long-range strike was deflected just off the post in stoppage time.
2025-01-14 21:56:00
