Super-sub Diogo Jota earns Liverpool point at Forest [video]
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool
Nuno Espírito Santo’s Nottingham Forest remain a tough proposition for the major teams in the Premier League, after holding leaders Liverpool to a draw at the City Ground on Tuesday night.
Forest came into the match off the back of seven straight wins in all competitions, and Chris Wood’s 8th-minute opener set Nuno’s side on a potential road to another victory. However, Portugal forward Diogo Jota emerged from the bench to head in Liverpool’s equaliser and the teams shared the spoils.
The opener was typical of Forest’s energetic style under Nuno. The home side won the ball in midfield and got possession quickly forward to Anthony Elanga, who immediately fed top score Chris Wood for the Australian to give them an early lead with a composed left-footed strike across Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson.
The score remained 1-0 going into half time and twenty minutes into the second period Liverpool manager Arne Slote decided on a double substation. Left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas and forward Diogo Jota were both thrown on, with the changes making a remarkable instant impact as Tsimikas’ corner found Jota, who headed home from close-range with his first touch.
There were no more goals, meaning Liverpool dropped points for the second match running after their 2-2 draw with Manchester United last weekend. Yet the Reds enjoy an enviable position at the top of the standings, leading Forest by six points with a game in-hand, while Liverpool’s advantage over 3rd place Arsenal is seven points with the same number of matches played.
Diogo Jota with a header from a corner to earn Liverpool's pointpic.twitter.com/SlSqtfoWYV
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) January 15, 2025
“Obviously I love to score goals,” Jota said after the match. “I scored with my first touch today and obviously that gave the team a bit of momentum. I had two more chances, I think I could have given us the three points. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, and [it was] game on.
“What did I say to Tsimikas? I actually said to him, we were watching the cup goal from two or three years ago where he passed it to me, and we were on the touchline there and I was just saying, ‘Let’s do it now, recreate your assist, take the corner.’ It was a goal, it was one of those occasions where everything went right. But like I said, I’m not happy because I think we could have won.
“It’s a long way [still to go], in the Premier League every ground you go, even at home, it’s always hard. It’s one more point but obviously we wanted the three.”
Proud of the way we work – Nuno
“Overall, I’m very proud of the way we work,” said Nuno in his post-match interview. “The runs, the desire of these players is incredible. We had a good goalkeeper in our goal to keep us in the game. He’s in a good moment, he’s been able to keep us in many games. That shows we have to do better defensively.”
By @SeanGillen9