A smash-and-grab at the City Ground wouldn’t have been a huge surprise this weekend, but it was Liverpool that needed late heroics to take three points from Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
MORE — Arne Slot reaction
Outplayed for large portions of the game, Liverpool took all three points when Alexis Mac Allister’s second time getting the ball over the line in stoppage time withstood VAR scrutiny.
WATCH — Nottingham Forest v Liverpool full match replay
So the Reds manage to move onto 45 points as expected by many before the weekend, level with fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Manchester United. Man Utd have a match-in-hand and play Monday.
Forest stay two points above the bottom three and Vitor Pereira will be crushed after the winner came seven minutes.
Forest’s finishing woes remain
Three goals at Fenerbahce gave Nottingham Forest hope that Vitor Pereira had unshackled a Tricky Trees attack that had so often underwhelmed, but Sunday saw the same side that couldn’t score and saw their manager fired after dominating Wolves in a 0-0 draw. This time, Forest lost against a superior foe to Wolves. That’s not a surprise but an 18-10 shots advantage still couldn’t deliver a single ball over the opposition goal line. That, too, is not a surprise. Forest have gotten six goals from Morgan Gibbs-White this Premier League season but no more than three from anyone else as Chris Wood’s absence continues to scream off the pitch. They are a good enough team to survive the drop anyway but if they go down it will be down to lack of finish.
What’s next?
Another busy week for Forest, who host Fenerbahce in a Europa League playoff second leg on Thursday before visiting Brighton at 9am ET Sunday in the Premier League.
Liverpool host West Ham United at 10am Saturday.
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool final score: 0-1
Alexis Mac Allister 90+7'
Alexis Mac Allister goal — Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool
In the seventh of five minutes stoppage time!
There’s a big VAR review here, and it’s the slimmest offside possible.
A little extra boot polish on Ola Aina’s left foot — if they still do that — might’ve held Virgil van Dijk onside.
Alexis Mac Allister disallowed goal!
Ola Aina’s desperation clearance of a saved Hugo Ekitike header ends up in the back of the net!
But it’s not a smash-and-grab as Aina’s clearance hits Alexis Mac Allister’s elbow on its way into the goal.
Defensive subs
Jones and Kerkez exit for Andy Robertson and Joe Gomez. That’s about how this is going for the Reds.
Jones denied by Ortega
Stefan Ortega hasn’t been busy today but this is a huge moment and the ex-Man City man does his job.
A clever cross is knocked back into the six and Curtis Jones has to get it through some traffic from four yards.
Part of that traffic is Ortega, who makes a leg save.
Liverpool have improved early in this second half.
Halftime — Nottingham Forest 0-0 Liverpool
The outlook is grim for Liverpool, whose bench is very green apart from fullback Andy Robertson, defender Joe Gomez, and winger Federico Chiesa.
Entering stopage time, Stefan Ortega had only been asked to make 18 touches, and that was equal to or more than Mo Salah, Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo, and Milos Kerkez. Salah and Gakpo climbed above the keeper during the ensuing handful of minutes but it’s a glaring stat.
Which of these teams played in Turkiye this week?
Wirtz is a big unplanned absence but the Reds are really lacking something here.
Arne Slot has switched Szoboszlai into the midfield and dropped Jones to right back.
It’s almost all Forest
Morgan Gibbs-White is buzzing around the pitch and Forest have won a central free kick.
It’s not a one-off, as the Tricky Trees have taken seven of the game’s nine shot attempts through 26 minutes of play at the City Ground.
The free kick routine does not lead to another shot.
Forest chance!
Forest look invigorated and Ibrahima Sangare picks out Callum Hudson-Odoi’s run into the left side of the box.
He’s beyond Dominik Szoboszlai but cannot get his close-range shot through the body of Alisson Becker.
Bright start.
Florian Wirtz out
The 22-year-old German has reportedly been injured in warm-ups and replaced by Curtis Jones. We’ll share updates as soon as we have them.
Nottingham Forest lineup
Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus
Liverpool lineup
Alisson; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
OUT: Willy Boly (knee), Matz Sels (groin), Nicola Savona (knee), John Victor (knee), Chris Wood (knee)
Liverpool team news, focus
OUT: Wataru Endo (ankle), Conor Bradley (knee), Alexander Isak (broken leg - MORE), Giovanni Leoni (knee - MORE) | QUESTIONABLE; Jeremie Frimpong (thigh)
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool preview
Arne Slot’s Reds enter the weekend two points out of fifth and in search of their first consecutive Premier League wins since late December. Liverpool drew four-straight league games to start 2026, and have since alternated losses with wins leading into a 1-0 win at Sunderland on February 11.
Forest won their first match for new manager Vitor Pereira — their fourth boss of the season — when they went to Turkiye and toppled Fenerbahce 3-0 to put a strong foot into the Europa League Round of 16.
But Pereira’s men are just three points above the Premier League’s relegation zone after taking just two points from their last available nine including a dominant but finish-free 0-0 draw with 20th-place Wolves.
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool prediction
The Tricky Trees used their best group in Istanbul and will have to rally in order to surprise the visiting Reds. Pereira may be good but this is a huge ask. Nottingham Forest 0-2 Liverpool.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday
Venue: City Ground — West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
TV Channel: NBCSN
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
