It was a case of last minute glory for Liverpool at the City Ground as the Reds won despite a lacklustre display against Nottingham Forest. Jurgen Klopp’s side won 1-0, and will stay top of the Premier League even if Manchester City win at home to Manchester United tomorrow.
In a low-key clash, the hosts were left ruing Anthony Elanga’s missed first-half chance, with the winger denied by Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher – before sub Darwin Nunez struck a winner for the Reds in the ninth and final minute of injury time.
If Liverpool’s injury-stricken and youthful side were inspired last Sunday at Wembley, then for most of the 90 minutes today they looked like a team running on empty.
For the first time, the intense schedule Klopp and co are currently managing as they aim for an unprecedented quadruple appeared to take its toll. And the display seemingly backed up the fears of Sir Kenny Dalglish, who recently told the No Tippy Tappy Podcast: “Arsenal are not the biggest [threat] because Manchester City are in there as well. The biggest threat to Liverpool could be injuries.”
His fears appeared to ring true until the final seconds, when Nunez headed in from Alexis Mac Allister’s cross. Somehow, Liverpool found a way…again.
Andy Robertson missed the FA Cup win over Southampton in midweek, but while needs must for Klopp at the moment, it appeared an unwise decision to let him return for the trip to the City Ground.
The usually dependable Scottish full-back looked a shadow of his energetic self, giving the ball away frequently and failing to surge forward in his usual manner. He also found himself with a chance to shoot from point blank range early in the second period, but his shot was blocked after brief hesitation.
It was of no surprise when he 29-year-old was hauled off before the 60-minute mark. Having only returned to training on Friday, the decision to start Robertson over Konstantinos Tsimikas ended up looking a questionable one.
