Diogo Jota leaves valiant Nottingham Forest to wonder what might have been | OneFootball

Diogo Jota, it turns out, does not like fairytales. Nottingham Forest were closing in on a club record-equalling seventh successive league win and a first double over Liverpool since 1963 in a raucous East Midlands atmosphere.

More pertinently, had Chris Wood’s early strike at a jubilant City Ground steered Forest to a famous success, they would, without fear of ridicule, be able to call themselves credible title contenders, despite having only secured their survival on the final day of last season.

Alas, Leicester’s incredible feat nine years ago may well continue to be a one-off, after Jota, with his first touch after stepping off the bench, earned Liverpool a valuable draw to preserve his side’s six-point advantage atop the Premier League.

The pre-match feeling around the City Ground, as the soothing sound of bagpipes bounced off the Trent, was something a generation of Forest supporters have yet to experience.

Those old enough to remember when Forest regularly competed for titles at home and abroad will have told many a tale of the Brian Clough glory days, but their offspring have only really known toil and struggle.

For a modern-day Forest fan, to go into a meeting with Liverpool, past the halfway point of a Premier League season, in with a genuine chance of winning the title is something those who have been there and done that would have never thought possible again.

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The City Ground provided a raucous atmosphere (AP)

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Chris Wood fired Forest into an early lead to send home supporters wild (Getty Images)

The sense of anticipation was all too apparent in a Mull of Kintyre rendition whose decibel levels registered off the charts. When Wood fired home his 13th league goal of the season inside eight minutes, some present inside a euphoric City Ground simply lost their minds.

The first half was a perfectly executed Forest game plan. No Premier League side this season has registered a lower percentage of possession than Nuno Espirito Santo’s team. This, however, is all by design.

By allowing Liverpool to spread the play, Forest create gaps for their superb, interchangeable front four to feed off scraps like hungry dogs in the pound. One slight mistake is all it took and two passes later, Anthony Elanga had threaded the ball through for Wood to lift the roof off this famous old stadium. Truly devastating.

To score 13 times, Wood has only had 35 shots. But one chance is all this side needs, given just how resolute their rearguard is. True to script, Liverpool enjoyed 70 per cent possession, but did not muster a single shot on target all first half. Not in his wildest dreams could Nuno have expected 45 minutes to mirror his game plan to the letter like this.

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Diogo Jota grabbed an equaliser just seconds after coming on (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The home support were doing their best to get under Arne Slot’s skin, feeling that the Liverpool boss had disrespected their beloved team with comments the Dutchman made after Forest’s win at Anfield in September, when he said Liverpool should not be losing to teams like Forest.

Like everything else unfolding along the Trent, it seemed to be working, too, with Slot growing increasingly frustrated as Liverpool failed to find a breakthrough by the time the hour mark passed

Seconds after stepping off the bench, however, one of the slightest men on the pitch was left all alone from a corner taken by the other man who had just come on – Kostas Tsimikas – to head home an equaliser. It was Liverpool’s first shot on target, 66 minutes in, and the first time Forest have conceded from a set-piece all season.

In truth, the visitors could and should have won it late on, but found Matz Sels in inspired form in the home goal. Jota was twice denied, while a one-handed spring to keep out a goalbound Mohamed Salah curler was worthy of the showreel.

One final stop from Cody Gakpo was celebrated with real gusto and while the appreciation was palpable upon the final whistle, the home supporters trudged home with a feeling of what might have been.