Nottingham Forest delivered one of the Premier League’s biggest surprises this season, defeating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield and bolstering their hopes of survival. Remarkably, this marks the second consecutive season the visitors have won on Merseyside.

Liverpool, the defending champions, showed glimpses of their usual attacking flair early on. Within 10 minutes, a slick move saw Cody Gakpo feed Alexis Mac Allister just yards from goal, only for Elliot Anderson to produce a stunning last-ditch block that kept the scores level, leaving the Anfield crowd in disbelief.

Mohamed Salah was lively, weaving past three Forest defenders before finding Milos Kerkez, whose volley flew over the bar. Despite Liverpool dominating possession and creating chances, it was Forest who struck first against the run of play.

A corner caused chaos in the Liverpool box, and amid the confusion, Murillo calmly slotted the ball into the corner to give Forest the lead. Igor Jesus thought he had doubled the advantage shortly after, but the effort was ruled out for handball.

The second half was expected to be a Liverpool onslaught, but Forest defied expectations by extending their lead. Nico Williams, a former Liverpool player, orchestrated the move before cutting the ball back for Nicolo Savona, who fired into the roof of the net.

In a bid to turn the game around, Arne Slot introduced Hugo Ekitike, but Liverpool struggled to find cohesion, even with more attackers on the pitch. They were punished once more 12 minutes from time when Omari Hutchinson’s powerful shot was parried to Morgan Gibbs-White, who calmly slotted home from close range.

The 3-0 defeat marks Liverpool’s heaviest home league loss under Arne Slot, leaving their title defense in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Forest move further clear of the relegation zone, with Sean Dyche’s tactical acumen proving once again that he could be the ideal manager to keep them up.