Ola Aina On Losing Side As Liverpool Edge Nottingham Forest 1–0

Nigerian defender Ola Aina was on the losing side on Sunday when a late, late goal from Alexis Mac Allister gave Liverpool the three points in Vitor Pereira’s first Premier League game in charge of Nottingham Forest.

Aina played the full 90 minutes in what was a game of two halves for Forest who dominated in the first half but failed to get a goal. They were left to rue those missed chances when Mac Allister smashed the ball into the net in the 97th minute after Virgil van Dijk had made contact to push it to him.

Mac Allister had a goal ruled out in the 92nd minute for a handball but this time VAR ruled his effort a goal.

The win made it two big wins in a row for Liverpool, first away at Sunderland and on Sunday away at Forest.

It leaves Liverpool 6th with 45 points while Forest (17th) sit two points above the relegation zone, clear of West Ham on 18th.

After the match, the goal scorer Mac Allister said, “Mixed feelings to be honest. I love scoring, I love winning. But I don’t think we played very well. It’s always nice when you win.

On the ruled out goal hitting his elbow, he said, “It did, but I feel like it’s a bit harsh. It’s a bit of both but I understand the rules.

“I thought I would get another one. I told Hugo this would be our goal. I;m glad that it went in.

“We need to analyse what we did well and what went wrong. The intensity wasn’t there but we did what we did to win.

“Florian is a really good player and really important for us. It was a different shape and a different way to play. It didn’t work but we will keep working and next game we can do better.

“We need points to qualify for the Champions League. Now it’s time to rest and think about the next one.”

Liverpool boss Arne Slot, speaking after the match said, “It was fine margins. We really struggled in the first half. We were the lucky ones scoring in the extra time.
On the disallowed goal, he said, “I have to see it back to judge if it’s the right decision. The offside or onside is factual.
“In the first half, the only part I liked was the defending in our box. We showed a different Liverpool in the second half. We tried to bring fresh wingers in and that led to our first disallowed goal. Joe Gomez brought the long throw in.
“I have seen us defending poorer in our own box this season. That might be down to the quality of Forest. I am surprised by the league position they are in. We did not give away many big chances but we gave the ball away every time.
“I have to change my line-up constantly, not so late this time. Florian is in great shape and Curtis Jones played well last week against Brighton.”
Reacting, Forest boss Vitor Pereira said, “That is football. Not fair a lot of times. We played the first half in a fantastic way, creating problems and we deserved to score. We didn’t. We played three days ago. Our capacity to press them was not the same and in the end, we conceded.
“We need to accept but the supporters were fantastic. It was a short time with the team and we need to create this special situation. One point is not enough.

“This is football. It is small details and at least one point was OK.

“They have talent, quality and spirit. If they played the way they played in the first half, then we can get a lot of points.”