Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the Arne Slot era as Nottingham Forest secured a 1-0 smash-and-grab victory at Anfield on Saturday.
The Reds looked far from clinical as they failed to score against Forest despite having 14 shots, only managing to get five on target.
Luis Diaz hit the post and Forest ‘keeper almost handed Liverpool the lead when he appeared to lose the ball in the sun but in the end it was Callum Hudson-Odoi who broke the deadlock with a stunning strike from outside of the area.
Liverpool were frustrated by Forest all afternoon and despite utilising all five substitutions were not able to make their chances count.
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Slot’s substitutions
Slot showed that he wasn’t afraid to make bold substitutions only 45 minutes into the season when he substituted Jarell Quansah at halftime against Ipswich Town, and Slot’s substitutions against Nottingham Forest were nothing short of bold.
After 60 minutes slot replaced Diogo Jota with Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz with Cody Gakpo and Alexis Mac Allister with Conor Bradley.
Whilst the first two substitutions were fairly straightforward, the third saw Trent Alexander-Arnold move into the midfield, something that didn’t go well for England at the Euros.
Although the move didn’t cause Liverpool any specific problems, it was not very effective and Trent wasn’t able to change the game despite playing centrally.
Forest’s goal also came from Bradley’s side, and although it would be harsh to blame the 21-year-old for the goal, Trent may have been able to offer more defensively in that situation.
Liverpool in a back three
Following Hudson-Odoi’s goal, Slot made the decision to make two more substitutions.
Kostas Tsimikas replaced Andrew Robertson and Curtis Jones came on for Ibrahima Konate.
It looked like the first change was coming regardless of the goal but the second was almost certainly a reaction to going 1-0 down.
This left Liverpool with a back three of Tsimikas, Van Dijk and Bradley, a very unlikely trio.
The move was a clear attempt to go all-out in attack but it didn’t do much to alleviate Liverpool’s frustration.
Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander-Arnold were all booked after the change and Liverpool did not look anything like the dominant force seen in their first three Premier League games.
The positive outlook
Although the tactical changes didn’t really impact the game much, they didn’t cost Liverpool the match and some supporters will have found it refreshing to see such drastic tactical changes during a match.
For all of Jurgen Klopp’s many positives, he sometimes came under fire for not being bold enough with his tactical changes, something Slot clearly isn’t afraid of.
It is easy to forget that Slot is only four games into his Liverpool tenure and still has a lot to teach this squad. Just because his tactical tweaks were not effective in the loss to Forest doesn’t mean they won’t ever work and the Liverpool boss still has the Reds only three points off top of the league.
Down the line – and with more games under his belt – these risky changes are far more likely to make an impact. Expect more of this kind of thing, then, as Slot shows his bravery and inventiveness.
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