Diogo Jota was in intensive conversation with Kostas Tsimikas as the Liverpool duo waited to play at the City Ground.

The clock was ticking towards the middle of the second half and Arne Slot’s side were still behind when Chris Wood scored the opener in the first half.

Despite all of their possession, the Premier League leaders had not managed a single shot on goal. They cried out for some inspiration as in-form Nottingham Forest, hoping for a seventh successive league win for the first time since 1922, held on.

Jota and Tsimikas had recalled scoring the winning goal for Liverpool in the sixth round of the FA Cup at the same venue in March 2022.

“I just said, ‘Let’s do it now, repeat your assist and take the corner,'” Jota told TNT Sports. “It was one of those moments where everything worked out. I scored a goal with my first touch of the ball, which I think gave the team some momentum. But I’m not happy because I think we could have won.”

Set pieces have not been a strength for Liverpool so far this season, but Tsimikas’ performance was perfect and Jota netted his eighth goal of the season in all competitions. Talk about an immediate impact.

It was the fastest goal ever scored by a Liverpool substitute in the Premier League era – the Portugal international celebrated just 22 seconds after entering the field. It was also Liverpool’s first league goal from a corner since Virgil van Dijk scored at Arsenal in October.

If signing left-back Tsimikas for the struggling Andy Robertson was a no-brainer, Slot deserves credit for thinking outside the box and being bold (not for the first time this season), as Jota’s replacement for Ibrahima Konate is Ryan Gravenberch led to dropping deeper as a makeshift central defender.

“We used an attacker instead of a defender to play more attacking football than we already did because we needed a goal,” he explained. “When I brought the two into the game, I wasn’t thinking about scoring from set pieces.”

Liverpool were a different opponent with Jota and not Luis Diaz at the helm. The Colombian failed to get a shot on target in the 75 minutes he was on the pitch and, as his heatmap below shows, he often drifted into deeper positions rather than central, high areas.

In contrast, Jota buzzed around with intent, unbalancing Forest’s defense with his movement and fighting prowess. Without the heroics of goalkeeper Matz Sels he would have been the match winner.

Despite only coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute, Jota had more shots on goal (three) than any of his teammates. He provided the spark for this frenetic finale.

It has been a difficult time for the former Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker, who has not started a top-flight game since suffering a chest injury against Chelsea at Anfield in October.

After being sidelined for two months, he scored in his comeback from the bench to salvage a point for Liverpool’s 10-man side against Fulham in mid-December.

However, some discomfort remained and Slot has treated him carefully ever since. Jota had to be patient, but Tuesday night felt like a big step forward for him. He looked stronger and sharper.

“Diogo had a big impact when he came on as a substitute against Fulham but after that game he suffered a bit of a setback,” said Slot. “In the games that he came after, I also had the feeling that he needed a little more time to get into his rhythm. This isn’t just the case with him, I also see it with other players who have been out for a few weeks or a few months. It’s difficult to get that intensity going straight away in Premier League games.

“It was very pleasing to see that he might have been even better tonight than he was against Fulham. He had a huge influence. He was the one alongside Mo (Salah) who had a few chances to score a second goal.”

Darwin Nunez will be back in contention for Saturday’s trip to Brentford following a one-match suspension, but Jota deserves the chance to be in the starting line-up. Playing Diaz through the middle worked well at times, but the Colombian, who made way for Curtis Jones, struggled with Forest’s physicality and offered little threat.

Jota is without question the most complete No.9 available to Slot and keeping him fit and firing will have a big impact on what Liverpool achieve this season.

They remain in control of the Premier League title race despite dropping points for the fourth time in their last seven league games.

Liverpool’s disappointment at failing to find a winner was matched by relief at returning home after a damaging repeat of the defeat they suffered at Anfield against Forest in September. had avoided.

Alarm bells rang during an erratic first-half performance when poor defending allowed Wood to give Forest an early lead. The decision-making continually let Liverpool down as so many promising openings were scuttled.

They looked unsettled in the white-hot atmosphere of the city grounds. “We’re in your head, Arne,” chanted the home fans, who had been dreaming of a top-flight double against the Merseysiders since 1962/63.

Slot’s post-match assessment that it was “98 minutes of total dominance” was certainly overly generous. Happy to let Liverpool have the ball and then counter when moves failed, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were comfortable in the first 45 minutes, with Sels having little to do.

But the second half was a different story as the visitors attacked with greater energy, quality, determination and composure. The changes gave them new energy. No club has gained more points from losing positions in the Premier League so far this season than Liverpool (14), and you have to admire the powers of recovery.

In the end, the statistics pointed to a mismatch: Liverpool’s xG was 1.99 to 0.31, 23 shots to six, seven on target to three, 52 touches of the ball in the opponent’s penalty area to 17 and 71 percent possession. After the 63rd minute, Forest couldn’t get a single shot. In the end they persevered.

However, Liverpool will be annoyed that it took so long to get going. It was Jota who brought her to life.

(Top photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)