Arne Slot makes ‘lucky’ Liverpool admission following Forest draw

The Football Faithful

·14 January 2025

Arne Slot makes ‘lucky’ Liverpool admission following Forest draw

Arne Slot admitted there was an element of luck to Liverpool’s equaliser against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night.

The visitors struggled to break down a stubborn defence after Chris Wood gave the Tricky Trees an early lead with a tidy finish.

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It wasn’t until the 66th minute that Liverpool found their way to goal as Diogo Jota met Kostas Tsimikas’ corner – less than a minute after both men came off the bench to replace Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate.

Slot admits Liverpool equaliser vs Forest was ‘a bit lucky’

“You need to be a bit lucky with that,” Slot said of the substitutions on TNT Sports after the final whistle.

“We took Ibou out at that moment who is normally a big threat on set pieces but we all know Jota can score a goal and Tsimikas has a good delivery. We brought them in to score a goal but they really did it after 20 seconds.”

Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels was in inspired form, making several last ditch saves late on to deny Liverpool victory.

“Their goalkeeper had to make a few incredible saves but their defenders also made some good blocks with quite a few chances. They blocked almost every shot,” Slot said.

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“I could not have asked for more. Second half was outstanding. There are not many teams that can create so many chances against an opponent so defensively strong. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a second.”

The Dutchman went on to explain why it’s so difficult to break down the Forest defence, which has conceded just eight goals at home.

“When the goalkeeper has it they go long, which you have to defend firstly, which we did,” Slot said. “Then you have to win the second ball. If you win that then they go back in a low block with eleven players around the 18 yard box.

“It is so, so hard for every team to create here. And at times it was one chance after another, although sometimes it took a long time for the restart.”

The result means Forest move up to second in the Premier League table, six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

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