There are only so many times you can be happy with a draw in a title fight and this could be the last time for Liverpool, who have to come from behind at Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool

Premier League (20) | City area
January 14, 2025

Goals: wood 8′; Jota 66′

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1. Too many draws can cost you a title

After the 1-0 defeat at Anfield in September, Arne Slot spoke about Nottingham Forest for weeks.

It’s almost as if he knew how big of a departure it would be from the rest of Liverpool’s season.

Before the second leg against Forest at the City Ground, the encounter at Anfield Road was Slot’s only league defeat as Liverpool coach.

Certainly the manager, his staff and players did everything they could to find this opponent before this game, but Forest once again proved difficult to beat.

You can see why this team is second in the league because although they are difficult to beat, they also have several counter-attacking routes to goal.

By the end of their two league games against Forest, Liverpool have only scored one goal and to secure the title they will now need to go on a similar run to their last game. You can no longer afford to be satisfied with one point.

As for Forest, they are really good and have played their part in a great duel at the top of the table.

2. The wrong choice of striker

According to the statistics, Liverpool’s best chance in the first half was Dominik Szoboszlai’s header from Cody Gakpo’s cross, but in reality it was anything but an easy chance.

Because this type of data is based on shots, some of a team’s best chances can be ignored if the play doesn’t result in a shot.

This was the case when Luis Diaz ran along the Forest backline and a simple pass to the right would have given Gakpo a chance.

Given his form, you would have bet on Gakpo to score, but instead Diaz botched the pass and allowed Murillo to intercept.

Diaz’s raid play was consistently poor and with Diogo Jota, a more natural striker on the bench, and the in-form Gakpo who could also move into the middle, the hour or so that Diaz played at center forward was a waste of time.

It’s not necessarily Diaz’s (a winger) fault either, and he has shown glimpses of good play in that position before, but there were few glimpses of that direction against Forest.

3. Recognize the difference the first time you touch it

There was probably a reason Liverpool made a few substitutions at half-time after some poor performances on the pitch.

As mentioned above, they appeared to be missing an experienced striker in particular, so it was no surprise to see Jota in the second half.

It was a surprise that Slot waited until the 65th minute, but his substitutions made an immediate impact.

Kostas Tsimikas joined Jota in a double substitution that saw Robertson and, unusually, Ibrahima Konate taken off as Liverpool optimized their roles with Gravenberch filling in at centre-back when needed.

Both substitutes immediately combined in a rare clinical moment for Liverpool in this game.

Tsimikas’ first touch of the ball was a corner and Jota’s first touch was to head the corner into the goal.

It would be the only moment of its kind, but Jota’s liveliness in attack and his instinct for the shot showed that he should have come on earlier.

4. Title talk on Tuesday

Everything happened – or didn’t happen – during these midweek games for the teams at the top of the Premier League table.

Man City conceded two late goals at Brentford to lose two points and Chelsea needed a late goal from Reece James to salvage just a point at home to Bournemouth.

It seems no one wants to face a real title challenge and at some point we may have to say Forest have the best chance.

However, Arsenal host Tottenham tomorrow and have the chance to extend Liverpool’s lead.

The North London Reds may have been the luckiest team in the Premier League after Tuesday’s dramatic draws.

5. Window open: Looking for offspring?

It’s always tempting to look at the transfer market as a solution when a team isn’t winning regularly when the window is open.

A good way to assess how likely a team is to make new signings in the transfer window is to look at the bench.

Even with Darwin Nunez suspended, there was no player on Liverpool’s bench who could easily be left out to make room for someone else.

Jarell Quansah might miss out if Joe Gomez were available, but otherwise Liverpool have a number of experienced players who can all play a role and the slot wouldn’t want to leave the squad entirely.

New arrivals are not likely unless someone is sold. It’s probably more about making deals to improve the overall quality of the team through sale and subsequent purchase, rather than expanding the existing package.

The most obvious area for this might be the striker role.

Slot has worked well with the existing team and even their only new signing so far, Federico Chiesa, was not needed, so this is likely to be a selective window rather than one that triggers a buying spree.