Liverpool and Forest play out five-goal thriller
2 min read
Mohamed Salah scored the winner as Liverpool edged out Nottingham Forest 3-2 in a five-goal Premier League thriller at Anfield on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were pegged back twice as former Red Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out goals from Diogo Jota.
But Salah’s 183rd Liverpool goal – moving him level with Robbie Fowler – sealed the points 20 minutes from time.
The Reds close the gap on fourth-placed Newcastle United to six points, having played one game more, while ensuring their opponents remain inside the relegation zone.
Keylor Navas came to Forest’s rescue in the 26th minute with a tremendous reflex save to deny Virgil van Dijk’s close-range header, while Williams thwarted Cody Gakpo on the line.
But the hosts broke through within two minutes of the restart. Forest failed to clear a corner and Fabinho’s header back into the danger zone was flicked home by Jota.
Forest responded well and levelled four minutes later following a sweeping move that saw Gibbs-White find Williams, whose first-time shot deflected in via Andrew Robertson.
However, Robertson turned provider as Liverpool regained the advantage within four minutes, Jota taking advantage of sloppy defending to control his free-kick before drilling a volley past Navas.
The former Real Madrid goalkeeper did brilliantly to deny Jota a hat-trick before Forest levelled again, Gibbs-White’s volley deflecting off Trent Alexander-Arnold and into the bottom corner.
But Salah edged the hosts back in front 20 minutes from time, reacting quickest to steer home Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick.
Substitute Brennan Johnson almost rescued a point when he hit the crossbar, as the Reds held out for victory.
