Liverpool extended their Anfield winning streak to five matches this season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, maintaining their strong start to the Premier League campaign.
The Reds have now accumulated 23 points and currently sit in 4th place in the league table, just three points behind the leaders Tottenham Hotspur after 11 matches played.
Diogo Jota continued his impressive form by opening the scoring for Jurgen Klopp’s side, finding the net 31 minutes into the game. Soon after, Darwin Nunez doubled their lead, converting a well-placed cross from Dominik Szoboszlai from close range.
Liverpool’s top scorer, Mohamed Salah, sealed the victory with the third goal in the 77th minute. In doing so, he became only the third player in the club’s history to score in each of the first five home league matches of a season.
In this analysis, Sarah Clapson (@Sarah_Clapson) dissects Liverpool’s performance, delves into the Reds’ reconfigured midfield, and the outstanding form of Darwin Nunez.
That’s five wins in a row at Anfield for Liverpool this season. What do you make of the Reds’ performance taking into consideration Luis Diaz’s ongoing situation involving his parents in Colombia?
Sarah: I thought Liverpool were excellent on Sunday, although Forest did make it easy for them. If Forest had been able to field a striker in their XI and had more attacking options available, it might have been a different game. But without that kind of outlet, Forest went into low-block mode with the hope of hitting Liverpool on the counter. There was a difference in quality between the two teams and Liverpool were brilliant at exploiting their opportunities. Even though he made a horrible error for the third goal, but for Matt Turner Liverpool might have scored more. Forest were far from being anywhere near their best, which they needed to be to get something from the game; they are also a team which is still in transition. But Liverpool were very good, particularly given the Luis Diaz situation – it can’t have been easy for anyone at the club.
New summer signings Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai shone once again. It seems Liverpool 2.0 could be a force to be reckoned with.
Sarah: Last season, Forest gave Liverpool a game at Anfield and they beat them at the City Ground. But I’d say Liverpool already look like a very different side this time around. There was a lot of quality on show from them on Sunday. Some of the link-up play caused Forest problems and Szoboszlai, in particular, played some lovely passes. Forest won’t be the only team to come away from Anfield empty-handed this season. Liverpool look like a really dangerous side.
Liverpool’s front five have been in fine form this season, especially Mohamed Salah, however, Darwin Nunez looks like a man on a mission and currently has 11 goal contributions.
Sarah: I thought Nunez was very good on Sunday. Turner had denied him a couple of times before he got on the scoresheet and he had put a header over. There was also a brilliant acrobatic effort from him which wasn’t too far away before half-time. He seems to be in a good bit of form and looked full of confidence – unfortunately for Forest. I thought Forest did OK defensively for the first half hour. Liverpool had all the possession, but it seemed Forest had a handle on containing them. Once the deadlock was broken, though, Forest suddenly looked vulnerable at the back and Liverpool tried to capitalise. There is no doubt they have loads of attacking threat.
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