LIVERPOOL, England -- "It's happening again." That was the cry from the Nottingham Forest supporters as they watched their team play out a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
While the chant was inspired by Forest's recent aptitude for securing famous results at Anfield, it could just have easily been a description of the manner in which history keeps on repeating itself for Liverpool. By the end of Saturday's Premier League contest, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai had been deployed at right back as the Reds surged forwards in the hope of another late rescue act.
It was coach Andoni Iraola's first Premier League game in the Anfield dugout, yet the problems that blighted Liverpool over the course of the afternoon seemed like a legacy of last season, when Arne Slot was made to pay with his job for a series of similarly disjointed displays.
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Forest arrived on Merseyside aware that, since their promotion to the Premier League in 2022, no side had picked up more wins in the competition against Liverpool than their three. Perhaps that knowledge emboldened them, with new manager Oliver Glasner's side fashioning a number of early opportunities before Dan Ndoye gave them the lead with a cool finish into the bottom corner after 24 minutes.
For the second week in a row -- after last Sunday's 2-2 draw at Newcastle United -- Liverpool found themselves with a mountain to climb. Last term, the Reds' unerring ability to offer early encouragement to opponents cost them dearly. Of the 14 league games in which they conceded the first goal last term, they won only one, drawing two and losing 11.