Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham Forest: Mohamed Salah scores again and Diogo Jota pays tribute to Luis Diaz in win

Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah were on target as Liverpool eased to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Anfield to cut the gap to leaders Tottenham to three points.

Jota converted the opener from close range in the first half and celebrated with a show of solidarity to Luis Diaz, holding up the absent winger's shirt following the news of his parents' kidnapping in Colombia.

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.

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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.

How Liverpool cruised to another win

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.

Liverpool could have been completely out of sight before the break, with Turner saving from Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in quick succession, but they continued to dominate in the second half.

Forest had one of few real chances when Nicolas Dominguez failed to properly connect with a low cross from Morgan Gibbs-White cross, and that near miss was swiftly punished.

Salah's goal, stroked into an empty net after Turner's misjudgement allowed the excellent Szoboszlai's pass to bounce over his head, extended the 31-year-old's run of goal involvements at Anfield to 14 consecutive Premier League appearances.

Forest went close for the first time when Elanga crashed his diagonal effort off the underside of the bar in the closing stages, but they finished the game having failed to even register a shot on target, the defeat keeping them 16th.

Liverpool, meanwhile, thought they had added a fourth when substitutes Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo combined in stoppage time, but VAR found the Dutchman to be offside. Three goals were more than enough, though, to ensure optimism continued to grow on Merseyside around their strong start to the campaign.

The story of the match

Klopp dedicates win to 'brother' Diaz

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said: "The game and result is very good for us. We played in the most difficult circumstance I've ever had.

"It was a really difficult day, which ended with a good result and the best thing we could do for our brother was that we win the game and distract him a little bit maybe.

"After more than 1,000 games you would think you have experienced everything, but no.

"But it's not about us, it's about Lucho and his family, and we all pray and hope that everything will be fine.

"What we can do, we will do, we've done already in the club and the only thing we could do today was fight for their brother - and that's what they did."

Analysis: Szoboszlai a complete midfielder

It was a day for Liverpool's front three to feast but Dominik Szoboszlai was Liverpool's star performer.

The 23-year-old is proving to be one of the signings of the season in the Premier League and his display at Anfield on Sunday summed up just how much he is giving Jurgen Klopp's side.

Szoboszlai has usurped Trent Alexander-Arnold as the team's creative force, with only Bruno Fernandes, Kieran Trippier and James Maddison fashioning more chances in the Premier League this season, and that creativity yielded two assists against Forest.

The first saw him pick out Nunez with a precise cut-back following a trademark run into the box. The second, for Salah, underlined his passing range as his long pass outfoxed Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner.

Szoboszlai's attacking threat is only one part of his offering. He is just as important off the ball. He won possession more times (13) than anyone else on Sunday. In fact, he ranks second only to Luton's Marvelous Nakamba in that metric in the Premier League this season.

His physical intensity is proving invaluable. Only Alexis Mac Allister covered more ground among Liverpool players against Forest, according to tracking data, while only Nunez registered more sprints.

He was relentless and he has been all season. Szoboszlai is the only outfield player to have played every minute of Liverpool's Premier League campaign so far. His completeness has rapidly made him indispensable to Klopp.

Cooper bemoans Forest errors

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper said: "It felt like we were okay, giving away set-pieces and letting them at times get into dangerous areas but I still felt we were okay defensively.

"We could've done a bit better with the ball, got a bit higher up the pitch, but what we didn't want to do was open up the pitch because that's when they're at their most dangerous.

"If you look at the goals, that's exactly what we ended up doing. The first one is a turnover in the middle of the pitch which we shouldn't give away, and as soon as they make the first pass you know you can be in trouble.

"Same thing for the second one, there weren't too many times we got loads of bodies up the pitch in the first half, but on one that we did, turnover again, not quite right on the transition and they punish you.

"The third goal speaks for itself, it shouldn't happen at this level but it has."

Liverpool's free-scoring forwards - Opta stats

• Diogo Jota has scored 11 goals in his last 13 starts in all competitions for Liverpool, with his last five goals for the Reds coming at Anfield. He only has one fewer goal this season (six) than he managed last season (seven in 28 games).
• Darwin Nunez has been involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League appearances for Liverpool (four goals, three assists). This is the first time Nunez has netted in consecutive games on home soil in all competitions for the Reds.
• Mohamed Salah has been involved in 32 goals in his last 28 Premier League appearances (20 goals, 12 assists) for Liverpool. At Anfield, Salah has either scored (15 goals) or assisted (three goals) in each of his last 14 Premier League appearances there.
• Mohamed Salah has 20 goals in 2023, his fourth different calendar year with 20+ goals (28 in 2018, 23 in 2020 and 24 in 2021). Only Harry Kane, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer have scored 20+ Premier League goals in more different calendar years (all five).

What's next?

Liverpool face a trip to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm. They then travel to Luton on Sunday November 5, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 4.30pm.

Live Super Sunday

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa, also live on Sky Sports, on Sunday November 5, kick-off 2pm.

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