Report and free video highlights as Liverpool defeats Nottingham Forest 3-0 thanks to goals from Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah; Jota honored Luis Diaz after learning of his parents’ abduction in Colombia.
Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 at Anfield thanks to goals from Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah. This reduced the margin to three points with leaders Tottenham.
Following the news of his parents’ abduction in Colombia, Jota celebrated by holding aloft the shirt of the absent winger, Luis Diaz, as he converted the game’s opening goal from close range in the first half.
Nunez scored a well-worked Liverpool second a few minutes later, turning home Dominik Szoboszlai’s cut-back after the midfielder had been played in by Salah on the right-hand side of the Forest box.
The Egyptian added the third in the second half after an error from Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner, who came racing out of his box only to fail to cut out Szoboszlai’s long pass, with Salah taking full advantage to score his 10th goal of the campaign.
Forest’s only chance of note saw Anthony Elanga strike the crossbar in the closing stages but the result was never in any doubt, with Jurgen Klopp dedicating the win to Diaz and praising his players for their performance in “the most difficult circumstances” of his career.
“It’s not about us, it’s about Lucho and his family, and we all pray and hope that everything will be fine,” he added.
Forest were set up to sit back and absorb pressure but Liverpool’s quality soon proved too much, with the hosts creating two openings from Nunez, one from a Salah pass and the second from a corner, before Salah played him in again for the opener.
The Uruguayan’s powerful, angled effort was parried by Turner, but Jota, Diaz’s replacement in the team, was on hand to turn the loose ball home before running over to the bench for his pre-planned tribute to his absent team-mate.
Liverpool continued to overwhelm Forest when play resumed and the second goal arrived soon afterwards, when Salah played in Szoboszlai following a slick move and the Hungarian found Nunez to convert his sixth goal of the season.
