(Football news) The Reds destroyed Toulouse 5-1 in their Europa League match on Thursday, but Steve Cooper’s team lost a 2-0 lead against Luton Town to draw 2-2 the previous Saturday.
The thrilling match between Liverpool and Toulouse featured six goals, an odd miss by both teams, and a few debuts for up-and-coming talent. It was a fantastic advertisement for Europa League football, which is currently becoming far too simple for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Les Violets, who attacked in large numbers whenever they had the chance, did pose a few questions to a second-string team, but 18-year-old goalkeeper Guillaume Restes was forced to deal with a flurry of attacks and was unable to stop Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch from expanding the net.
After Thijs Dallinga equalised in the first half, the Reds went on the offensive, and Klopp led the Merseyside giants to seven straight home victories at the beginning of the season for the first time since 1990. The Reds are now possibly one match away from securing a last-16 spot in Europe’s secondary competition.
Liverpool, who are currently in fourth position and have now scored at least twice in each of their past four games, defeated Everton 2-0 in a relatively unimpressive Merseyside derby to stay within striking distance of the Premier League summit. They are only one point behind Manchester City and Arsenal.
The visit of Forest will coincidentally come exactly one year to the day after the Whites gave Klopp’s team a Halloween horror story. Liverpool is one of four teams in the top flight with a 100% home record that is still intact. Liverpool’s unbeaten Anfield run in the Premier League now stands at 16 matches since Leeds United’s shocking 2-1 victory.
The Swedish forward delivered two assists for the towering talisman to presumably put the Tricky Trees out of reach during Nottingham Forest’s match against Luton Town last weekend. The Chris Wood-Anthony Elanga combo worked a well on two occasions.
But previous missed chances would come back to haunt Steve Cooper’s team, as Chiedozie Ogbene cut the deficit with 83 minutes remaining before Elijah Adebayo’s stunning injury-time equaliser kept Nottingham Forest from taking home the most points at the City Ground.
Three Lions managers may be finding it difficult to see many bright spots in Tricky Trees’ current losing streak, which has seen Forest go five Premier League games without a win—they have drawn their last three—amid rumours that Cooper is on the FA’s shortlist as a potential replacement for England head coach Gareth Southgate.
Nottingham Forest, who have only managed two victories in the top division this season, are dancing with the devil in 15th place. Although they still have a solid six-point cushion from the relegation zone, their situation will become much more precarious if they are unable to snap out of their autumn slump.
Though it has been just over a year since former Reds protege Taiwo Awoniyi defeated his old employers in a 1-0 City Ground beating, Forest’s one-nil victories over Chelsea and Southampton represent their only Premier League away wins in 2023. During that time, they also lost 3-2 at Anfield to Liverpool, despite a heroic effort.
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