Mohamed Salah’s 183rd goal for Liverpool as Reds defeats Nottingham Forest 3-2, capping a five-goal thriller.

Match report and highlights: Diogo Jota’s double is cancelled out by Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White as spirited Nottingham Forest performance falls agonizingly short; Mohamed Salah climbs into joint sixth place on Liverpool’s all-time scoring rankings;

A thrilling 3-2 victory over an improving Nottingham Forest at Anfield kept Liverpool’s tenuous top-four aspirations alive as Mohamed Salah scored his 183rd goal for the club.

After a scoreless first half, Diogo Jota scored with a header two minutes into the second half. However, Liverpool’s lead would only last four minutes as Neco Williams’ deflection goal brought Forest even with his former team.

Jota’s spectacular second goal gave Liverpool the advantage again four minutes later, but Forest stormed back and equalized on the 67th minute with a goal from Morgan Gibbs-White.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick found Salah in an onside position, and he rifled in off the post to equal Robbie Fowler’s record of 183 goals for Liverpool. However, Forest’s vulnerability to set-pieces would come back to punish them for a third time.

Brennan Johnson, Forest’s leading scorer and a surprise absence from the starting lineup, struck the crossbar as soon as he entered the pitch, giving Forest a chance to escape Anfield with a crucial point in their fight against the drop.

However, Liverpool hung on to earn a second straight Premier League victory, moving them up to seventh place, six points outside the top four, while keeping their slim possibility of qualifying for the Champions League. Forest, who have lost their last 11 games, are in second-to-last place and one point from being in danger.

A five-goal thriller pits Liverpool against Forest.
Despite having 86% of the possession in the first half, Liverpool had nothing to show for it at the break thanks to Keylor Navas’s saves on Virgil van Dijk’s header and Jota’s missed opportunity from close range in a period where Forest’s risk-averse strategy paid off.

Seconds after the break, though, Alexander-Arnold’s corner caused chaos in the Forest six-yard box, allowing Fabinho to head the ball back across the goal for Jota to convert practically on the goal line.

Williams pulled Forest even four minutes later with a driving attempt that deflected off Andy Robertson and looped over Alisson Becker, igniting a frantic second half. Jota had the freedom of the area to control Robertson’s floated free-kick on his chest before volleying in his second, but Liverpool would respond right away.

Jota’s attempt at a hat-trick was stopped by a fingertip save from Navas, who pushed Jota’s header over the bar. Forest then drew even again when Gibbs-White volleyed in a magnificent equalizer in front of a jubilant away end.

Those celebrations, once more, were short-lived as Salah collected Alexander-Arnold’s free kick and scored through the frame of the Forest goal to tie Fowler for the most goals for Liverpool with 183.

Even so, Liverpool was unable to shut the door. Former striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who scored the game-winning goal against them at the City Ground in October, saw an overhead kick just miss the crossbar before Johnson came even closer by rattling the woodwork.

For the first time since October 2021 (a stretch of seven games), Mohamed Salah has now scored in three straight Premier League contests. In 2023, only Ollie Watkins (14) and Erling Haaland (13) have more goal involvements in the league than Salah (12 – 9 goals, 3 assists).
At Anfield, Liverpool has now faced newly promoted teams in 36 Premier League games with only one loss (W29 D6). During their current winning streak of five games, they have also scored 20 goals.

The last time Nottingham Forest scored twice in a Premier League match was against Blackburn in May 1999 (a 2-1 victory), and the last time they did so and lost was against Sheffield Wednesday in December 1998 (a 3-2 loss).
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson both assisted for Liverpool, the first time since January 2022 against Brentford and the tenth time they’ve both done so in the same Premier League game.

Man of the Match – Diogo Jota

Diogo Jota has scored four goals in his past two Liverpool outings after going 20 Premier League games without a goal. He is the first Reds player to score at least two goals in back-to-back matches in the league since Mohamed Salah did so in November 2017.

Wednesday’s Premier League match between Liverpool and West Ham is on the road; kickoff is at 7.45 p.m. On the same evening at the City Ground, Nottingham Forest hosts Brighton; kickoff is at 7.30 pm.