'Pocketed' - National media react as Nuno outsmarts Arne Slot in stunning Nottingham Forest win
Nottingham Forest extended their unbeaten start to the new Premier League season with an excellent 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, their first success on the red half of Merseyside since 1969.
Callum Hudson-Odoi was introduced in the second half and struck with a fine finish after good work from fellow attacker Anthony Elanga. Forest frustrated and then hit the Reds, who had maximum points from their previous three games, with the ultimate sucker punch.
That's eight points the club have now secured in their opening four games, scoring in all of them and conceding just a couple. Nuno's side have knitted together a couple of away day wins to nil at the start of this campaign, too.
Here is what the national press made of their triumph...
Mail Online
Wasteful finishing, lacklustre defending for Callum Hudson-Odoi's goal and post-international break tiredness can be cited as excuses that are short-term issues rather than terminal worries. But while Liverpool were poor, Forest were perfect and richly deserved their three points.
So, how did they do it? Nuno congested the middle of the park with five – yes, five – central midfielders: James Ward-Prowse, Nicolas Dominguez, Ryan Yates, Elliott Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White. Even striker Chris Wood dropped deep in a solid defensive shift.
Centre halves Murillo – it would not be a surprise if he gets a big move next summer – and new boy Nicola Milenkovic were imperious, while fellow summer signing Alex Moreno pocketed Mohamed Salah, and Ola Aina was equally impressive in keeping in-form Luis Diaz quiet.
In two sentences, we have name-checked every outfield player – this was a true team performance and every single man deserves mass credit, plus goalkeeper Matz Sels was solid when called upon. You will do well to find a finer tactical team performance this season.
Full Mail report here
The Times
Forest’s first win here since February 1969, when Barry Lyons scored twice in a 2-0 victory, left the visiting supporters in raptures, Murillo sank to his knees in prayer at the final whistle, and the winning strike will be fondly remembered down the years.
It arrived when yet another Liverpool attack broke down on the edge of the penalty area. Anthony Elanga would lead the breakaway down the left before spotting his fellow substitute Hudson-Odoi over on the right and conjuring a sumptuous, crossfield pass.
The winger cut inside Conor Bradley and picked his spot from 18-yards to curl a shot beyond Alisson as Liverpool, undone by one inch-perfect delivery, conceded for the first time this season.
Full Times report here
The Sun
Espirito Santo’s players arrived with a clear game plan. If nothing else they were not going to allow themselves to be pushed around, and they soon got feisty with it – in particular skipper Ryan Yates. The Kop had hardly settled when the midfielder caught Andy Robertson hard.
Alexis Mac Allister was the next to feel a little pain from him, taking one in the mouth. He, like Alex Moreno, would be cautioned late in the first half but the game plan of baulking and blocking frustrated Slot’s side.
The Sun report here
The Guardian
Everything Nuno did worked, from his tactics to team selection and substitutions. His gritty side followed their manager’s instructions to the letter to keep Liverpool at bay for 90 minutes and conjured up numerous counterattacks, with Hudson-Odoi eventually finishing one to earn the points after coming off the bench to give Forest their first win at Anfield since 1969 – 20,300 days and 27 trips here had passed in the meantime. It had been a long wait and their corner of fans celebrated it in such a fashion.
Nuno’s plan was to pack the middle of the pitch, selecting five central midfielders, in an attempt to nullify Liverpool in the areas they have controlled in the opening three wins. Ryan Yates was appointed the irritator-in-chief as he irked the majority inside Anfield with his aggressive play, causing numerous stoppages as Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister needed treatment for knocks.
Guardian report here
The Telegraph
After a home defeat and limp performance immediately after an international break, this may sound suspiciously like retrospective wisdom. The proof is in the insipid 90 minutes Liverpool produced in which they fell into every trap Nuno Espirito Santo set.
The poise and control of the winning start to a new Anfield era evaporated amid the carnage of the climax - Santo’s side executing the perfect game plan which came to fruition when Callum Hudson-Odoi struck the 72nd minute winner, the home fans left feeling exasperated by so many off-form players.
The longer the game progressed, the more dangerous the visitors became and Nuno’s second half changes worked better than Slot’s - none more so than Hudson-Odoi when he skipped past Conor Bradley and became the first opponent to beat Alisson this season and first Forest player to score an Anfield winner since 1969.
Forest went fourth, with Nuno evolving the side as he did Wolverhampton Wanderers; they are well-organised, resolute and now possess enough pace on the counter-attack to enjoy a season without the fear of relegation. This is their biggest scalp since returning to the Premier League, and in this form it will not be their last.
Telegraph report here
BBC Sport
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo deserves huge credit for their start to the season. All the talk was of Liverpool's unbeaten start under Arne Slot - but Forest had not lost a Premier League game either. And now they are the unbeaten ones.
Their first-half performance was solid and unspectacular. They frustrated Liverpool but did not have a single shot before the break. However, Nuno was brave in the second half, bringing on Hudson-Odoi and Elanga when the temptation might have been to shore things up - and it paid off.
Full BBC report here