The victory of Liverpool over Nottingham Forest in the latest round of the Premier League left a bittersweet taste in the air, especially for coach Arne Slot, who did not hesitate to admit that his team “got more than they deserved.” At the heart of the City Ground, the Reds displayed a performance that was promptly criticized, with former captain Jamie Carragher describing the first-half display as a true “horror show.”
However, luck smiled on Liverpool when Alexis Mac Allister scored a dramatic goal in the final minutes of the game, after seeing his previous attempt ruled out by VAR. “The first half was really poor, the worst we’ve played so far, I think,” Slot confessed. “But the second half was much better, we controlled the game much more. The performance was, especially in the first half, below what we have done so many times this season. However, we have been on the wrong side of the result after good performances too many times, and today, I think we got more than we deserved. A draw would have been a fairer result than our victory.”
Tension rose when Mac Allister scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time, following a disallowed goal in the 89th minute, when VAR determined that the ball had touched his arm before entering the net. “Since VAR has been around, I always have difficulty celebrating too much if I think there might be something happening,” Slot said, reflecting on the confusion the system causes. “You never know, if a ball hits a body, where it will end up going. And apparently, it ended up touching his arm. So it was disallowed. But perhaps luck changed, as two or three minutes later, we thought we had scored the winning goal again. They took a long time to check, but this time, the referee pointed to the center circle, which meant we won the game.”
Liverpool had to adjust their lineup before kick-off, with Florian Wirtz feeling back pain during warm-up. “We don’t think it’s too serious, but he felt his back too much during warm-up to start, he wasn’t at 100% or even close to it,” Slot explained. “After being in this league for six, seven, or eight months, he now understands that no matter how good you are with the ball, you need to be 100% at this level, so we decided not to use him. We hope and hope that he can be with us again next week, but you never know how things will turn out.”
On the other side, the new manager of Nottingham Forest, Vitor Pereira, expressed his frustration with this defeat. Taking the reins in his first match in the Premier League, Pereira stated he was “irritated with football,” after his team had pressed and dominated the game. “I am frustrated, frustrated inside, irritated with football,” said the Portuguese, who saw his new team win against Fenerbahce 3-0 on Thursday. “But it is time to maintain the mentality, come back stronger and with confidence to face the future. The result, for me, was very, very unfair, but that’s football. We need to keep the good things for the next game, to rest and prepare everyone.”
In this match, the struggle between luck and talent on the pitch was palpable, with Liverpool leaving with three points, but aware that the victory was not as deserved as it could have been. The season is far from over, and both Slot and Pereira have challenges ahead that promise more excitement and drama in the Premier League.
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