Andoni Iraola was denied victory on his first
appearance at Anfield as Liverpool manager after Victor Munoz scored late to
secure a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Forest appeared on course to claim a third consecutive
victory at Anfield after taking the lead twice through Dan Ndoye and Morgan
Gibbs-White’s penalty.
Alexander Isak briefly brought Liverpool level in the
second half before Munoz’s deflected strike salvaged a point for the Reds,
marking the second time in two matches that Iraola’s side have come from behind
to avoid defeat.
Iraola admitted Liverpool were well below their best
in the opening half but praised their improved performance after the break.
“It’s quite clear the first half has been poor, we
haven’t controlled the game,” Iraola said. “We improved a lot in the second
half, much more intense, much quicker on the ball, but not enough to win the
game.”
The result will come as a disappointment to Forest
manager Oliver Glasner, whose side created numerous chances and twice held the
lead.
“There are two emotions I think,” Glasner said. “Very
proud of the performance and how we played, scoring two goals, but we all feel
frustrated about the result because we have the feeling it could and should
have been a win.”
Forest threatened early, with Jeremy Jacquet producing
an important last-ditch block to deny Igor Jesus before Ndoye headed narrowly
wide.
The visitors eventually took the lead in the 24th
minute after a long ball exposed Liverpool’s defence. Jesus was initially
dispossessed, but Gibbs-White recovered possession and set up Ndoye, who calmly
found the far corner.
Liverpool thought they had levelled through Florian
Wirtz, but his effort was ruled out for offside against Jeremie Frimpong during
the build-up.
Forest nearly doubled their advantage before
half-time, but Alisson produced a crucial save to deny Ndoye.
Liverpool finally equalised on the hour mark when Cody
Gakpo delivered an inch-perfect cross for Isak, who tapped the ball into an
empty net.
However, Forest regained the lead moments later after
a quickly taken throw-in from new signing Liam Delap caught Liverpool’s defence
off guard.
Neco Williams was brought down by Alisson as the
goalkeeper rushed out of his area, and Gibbs-White calmly converted the
resulting penalty to put Forest back in front.
With Liverpool searching for another equaliser, Iraola
made several substitutions and his decision to keep Munoz on the pitch
ultimately paid off.
Wirtz produced a superb through ball to release the
Spanish forward, who unleashed a powerful effort that went in off the crossbar
to secure a dramatic late equaliser.
The draw leaves Liverpool with defensive concerns to
address, while several of their high-profile summer signings continue to search
for consistency.
Liverpool are also reportedly close to completing a £106
million ($144 million) deal for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola,
a move that could rise by another £17 million.
The Reds are expected to be back in action against
Ipswich on Friday.
Comments:
Leave a Reply