Liverpool dropped points for the first time this season after a second-half stunner from Callum Hudson-Odoi earned Nottingham Forest their first victory at Anfield in 55 years.
Arne Slot’s side was yet to concede a league goal this term before the introduction of Hudson-Odoi from the Forest bench, with Nuno Espirito Santo masterminding the unlikely 1-0 win.
The substitute scored the winner in the 72nd minute after Liverpool’s retreating backline offered him the time and space to measure a shot from 20 yards.
Hudson-Odoi obliged, bending an exact strike beyond Alisson at full stretch into the far corner.
Liverpool, with lofty ambitions in Slot’s first season in charge, created plenty but lacked any cutting edge as every final pass or attempted finish failed to hit the mark.
Red’s 14 shots at goal – five on target – were a sign of the home side’s obvious dominance. Still, unlike the opening three weeks of the campaign, where they scored seven times, they could not convert such superiority into anything meaningful.
Contrastingly, everything Forest did paid off, with Nuno making brave decisions.
Both team selections – Ryan Yates and James Ward-Prowse were among four changes, selected to pack the middle of the park – and formation worked to stifle and frustrate Liverpool.
The substitutions midway through the second period, as Anthony Elanga combined with Hudson-Odoi, were the catalyst for the game’s winner.