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The away side's victory on Merseyside in the prior year seemed an anomaly in an otherwise commanding Premier League home record for the Merseyside club. A second successive win this season, a much more emphatic victory under their manager, was indicative of the problems afflicting the faltering former winners.

Forest's exemplary showing

Forest were exemplary as they recorded their largest victory at Anfield. Scores from Murillo, outstanding at either side of the playing surface, Nicolò Savona and the exceptional Morgan Gibbs-White inspired a merited win for a team that also kept a maid clean sheet in 20 division fixtures.

The home side's woes

The hosts, by contrast, were a chaotic as they experienced an 8th defeat in eleven matches to drop into the second tier of the table. Poor at set pieces, repeatedly, impotent in offense, consistently, with Alexander Isak substituted after 68 anonymous minutes, and vulnerable at the back, they struggled in all departments to succumb to a back-to-back three-nil loss.

Opening control without result

For 30 minutes Liverpool enjoyed the upper hand, the sporadic attack from the Forest attacker apart, but the inability to capitalize on opportunities into the hard currency of scores proved costly. Alexis Mac Allister was given an early opportunity from the forward's surge into the box only for Elliot Anderson to deliver a superb goalline clearance with his forehead. The Liverpool midfielder had a another effort deflected moments later while dazzling footwork from the winger created another near-post opening for Kerkez. A Forest defender just managed to pressure the back into firing over.

Dead-ball frailty strikes again

Liverpool's coach has often criticized Liverpool's vulnerability to counterattacks and set-plays now. He was given further evidence for frustration when Nottingham Forest scored first through a blend of the two.

Dyche was shocked after the forward did not find Domínguez in room on the counter and gave the defender a chance to intervene. The ensuing corner kick caused jubilant moments in the Forest dugout, nevertheless, when Elliot Anderson's ball glanced off Van Dijk to Murillo and the defender hammered an unbeatable finish from six yards into the back of the net. It brought similarities of Van Dijk's ruled out goal against Manchester City in the away team's initial score with Dan Ndoye standing in an illegal position in front of the home side's returning goalkeeper Alisson.

VAR rulings and dispute

Unsurprisingly, the the skipper was prompt to mention the similarities to the match official, Andrew Madley. But unlike the full-back at the City's ground, Dan Ndoye made no apparent movement in front of the keeper and the score stood. Officials stated: "The initial ruling of a score was reviewed and verified by the video system – with it considered that he was not in the line of vision of Alisson and did not make an interference that impacted an player."

Liverpool were saved by the referees and video review a short time after when Igor Jesus was convinced he had doubled the visitors' lead.

The defender, who suffered a terrible afternoon, made an feeble effort to deal with an Sangaré's delivery and directed the ball against the Forest striker, who handled before finding the bottom corner of Alisson's goal. Andrew Madley, in discussion with his assistant, ruled out the strike for a handling that various reviews found it hard to verify or refute. The authority stated: "The decision of invalid score was reviewed and supported by the video assistant – with it considered that Igor Jesus unintentionally handled the ball before finishing."

Second score increases lead

That was the end of the reprieve. Almost immediately of the restart the midfielder failed to intercept a ball towards the defender inside the home 18-yard box. Williams evaded from his marker and presented their next goal on a platter for fellow full back Savona, who located the keeper's upper corner with a composed placed shot.

Tactical substitutions fail

Arne Slot made changes, replacing the defender with the forward after just before the hour and partnering the French forward next to the Swede. The tactical shift continued just a short period before the striker was withdrawn following another anonymous performance. Chiesa and the youngster were further added to the Anfield's frontline but inefficiency in ball control and resolute visitors' defense held the Reds at distance.

Concluding goal wraps up the outcome

Forest demonstrated the skill and incisiveness that Liverpool were without in the final third to put the contest {beyond doubt|out of reach|conclusively