Forest ‘looked comfortable’ in 3-0 drubbing of Liverpool

Wayne Rooney issued a damning verdict of just how miserable an afternoon Liverpool endured in their 0-3 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.

Arne Slot’s side slumped to their sixth loss in seven top-flight games on Saturday, dropping into the bottom half of the Premier League table as a result and prompting Martin Keown to remark that the ‘wheels have come off‘ for the Reds’ head coach.

While there was no little controversy over Murillo’s opening goal, the points seemed destined for Nottingham as soon as Nicolo Savona doubled their lead within a minute of the second half starting, with LFC mustering nothing in terms of a response.

Rooney: Forest ‘looked comfortable’ at Anfield

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live after the game, Rooney rightly praised Forest for their performance while also making a cutting remark to sum up Liverpool’s afternoon.

The former England striker said: “Forest were outstanding defensively. They were really organised and putting their bodies on the line; we know that’s what you get from a Sean Dyche team. Then they were effective on the break as well and caused Liverpool problems.

“Early on Liverpool had a few good chances and Anderson got a couple of excellent blocks in, but once Forest got the first goal, they looked like they didn’t have any answers. Forest looked comfortable.”

Rooney is right – it was all too easy for Forest

Those last three words from Rooney should send a shiver up Slot’s spine – Forest were indeed comfortable for the entire second half.

Even after Savona’s sucker punch within seconds of the restart, Liverpool still had enough time to gather themselves and show why they’re the reigning champions by unleashing a determined fightback.

Instead, they were worryingly submissive. Matz Sels made some decent stops but didn’t have to do anything spectacular to keep the Reds at bay, and while the statistics might indicate that the home side had 21 shots, only one of those was deemed a ‘big chance’ (Sofascore).

What good is 74% possession if you’re not going to carry any threat with it? Yes, Forest defended magnificently (Murillo and Elliot Anderson were particularly outstanding for them), but at no point did it seem like an onslaught on the visitors’ goal would be imminent.

Liverpool have lost games this season from last-gasp dramatics and fine margins; that wasn’t the case today. When hundreds of fans were streaming out of Anfield with almost 10 minutes of normal time remaining, that speaks volumes for how sobering a day it was for the Merseysiders.

As Rooney said, Forest were so comfortable. Full credit to them, of course, but it’s also a damning indictment of LFC’s performance that the game was effectively over as a contest with almost half of it still to play.