The Portugal forward came off the bench and scored with his first touch, helping Arne Slot’s side maintain their six-point lead at the top.

Nottingham Forest and Liverpool played out a thrilling 1-1 draw at the City Ground on Tuesday evening, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team once again proving their Premier League credentials this season.

Starting the game in third place, Forest had the chance to close the gap on Arne Slot’s side to just two points with a win. However, they had to settle for a draw following Diogo Jota’s moment of brilliance.

Forest struck first in the opening 10 minutes. After Liverpool missed early chances, Mohamed Salah lost possession in his own half. Forest capitalized quickly, with Chris Wood surging past Virgil van Dijk and finishing superbly with his weaker foot.

Liverpool’s best first-half chance came through Luis Diaz, as he found himself two-on-two with Forest’s defence alongside Cody Gakpo, but he was unable to slip the Dutchman in, due to a poor late pass.

After 65 minutes, Arne Slot made two changes, bringing on Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota for Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate; Tsimikas’ first touch was to deliver a brilliant corner for his fellow substitute to head home and level proceedings.

Liverpool pushed and pushed, with Matz Sels denying Jota twice, and Salah first seeing an effort well saved, and then blocked on the line by Ola Aina as the clock ticked into injury time. There was still time for Sels to produce another brilliant save, this time from Gakpo’s long-range drive, as Forest held out for a credible point.

 

Goalkeeper & Defence

Alisson Becker (6/10):

Beaten all ends up by a brilliant Wood finish. Didn’t have to make another save.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):

Some lovely passing but fortunate to get away with a bizarre punch on Anderson. He was aiming for the ball, but a strange interlude nonetheless. Perhaps Liverpool’s most effective defender.

Ibrahima Konate (5/10):

Struggled. Couldn’t get any rhythm going to his distribution and was ill at ease throughout. Subbed on 65 minutes.

Virgil van Dijk (6/10):

Caught out by Wood’s slick movement before his opener. Played as Liverpool’s only natural centre-back for over half an hour and did so with aplomb.

Andrew Robertson (4/10):

Rattled by the City Ground atmosphere and was subbed midway through the second half for Tsimikas. As poorly as he’s played all season; he just can’t track back like he used to be able to.

 

Midfield

Ryan Gravenberch (6/10):

A couple of sighters from distance. Forced to drop into defence as Konate went off and acquitted himself well.

Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):

Always tried to make something happen but Forest marshalled him well. His influence grew as the game went on, but he was unable to pick the proverbial lock.

Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):

Busy in midfield, making tackles and keeping Liverpool ticking. Couldn’t find the little bit of quality needed to shift the midfield battle.

 

Attack

Mohamed Salah (3/10):

Lost the ball before Wood’s goal and was peripheral throughout. Liverpool needed their talisman desperately, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Cody Gakpo (4/10):

Didn’t play well up front and was shunted to the left wing when Jota came on. Almost won it on 92 minutes with a long-range drive as Sels made a superb save, but this was a frustrating evening.

Luis Diaz (4/10):

Struggled to get beyond his man, or to release at the right time. Subbed at 1-1. A disappointing night.

 

Subs & Manager

Kostas Tsimikas (7/10):

Off the bench to take the corner that led to Jota’s goal. He looks like a better option than Robertson right now.

Diogo Jota (9/10):

Scored with his first touch. Denied more than once thereafter, with one particularly brilliant Sels save keeping the scores level. A genuine spark off the bench; he has to start more often.

Curtis Jones (6/10):

Came on for Diaz. Injected some energy into midfield.

Arne Slot (7/10):

An inspired tactical change got Liverpool back into the game as Jota scored with his first touch. Will have been fuming with his starting attackers, though, as they lacked any real fluidity, and both Salah and Diaz went missing.