Super substitute Jota denies Forest’s famous victory in a thrilling draw
Substitute Diogo Jota’s header seconds after coming on denied Nottingham Forest’s crucial win against Liverpool in a thrilling 1-1 draw at the City Ground.
Chris Wood had given surprise top-four challengers Forest a fantastic early lead in the eighth minute and it looked like they could knock out the Premier League leaders with a brilliant performance.
But Jota came to the rescue of Arne Slot’s side and secured what was probably a deserved draw, with Forest stopper Matz Sels making a series of brilliant saves to earn the hosts a point.
The draw means Liverpool retain their six-point lead at the top of the table and Forest move ahead of Arsenal into second place ahead of tomorrow’s north London derby.
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool
Wood sent the City Ground into turmoil in the eighth minute with a typically devastating counter-attack, having spent much of the last seven minutes fending off early pressure from the league leaders.
Anthony Elanga’s through ball found the New Zealand international, who took a touch before coolly slotting past Alisson for the 13th time this season.
Just listen to this roar 🔊
Chris Wood opens the scoring for Nottingham Forest with a perfectly executed break 🔥
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– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Liverpool continued to dominate possession with 71% possession in the first half, but failed to get any of their nine first-half attempts on target, with Luis Diaz having two missed shots.
The hosts remained useful despite barely seeing the ball. Murillo wasn’t far behind with a long-range shot shortly after Wood’s goal as the first half came to an end, leaving Arne Slot plenty of time to think.
Jota saves Liverpool
The same continued in the second half as Liverpool continued to struggle to break down the stubborn Forest defense until Jota was substituted just after the hour mark.
Within 30 seconds of being substituted in place of defender Ibrahima Konate to save the game, the Portuguese striker was in the perfect position to head into the corner from close range to equalize for Liverpool.
The 28-year-old was then denied the chance to put the visitors in the lead after an inside shot before his shot was parried into the Forest net by Matz Sels.
The definition of immediate impact 😤
Diogo Jota scores with his first touch of the game just 25 seconds after coming on as a substitute on ⏰
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– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Jota continued to lead Liverpool’s winning ways but was once again halted by the brilliance of Sels, who spread wide and made a wonderful save from close range with just over 10 minutes to play.
However, Forest were unwilling to give up their famous victory as Elanga’s ball across goal narrowly missed Jota Silva in the six-yard box.
In the 88th minute, Mohamed Salah finally seemed to have found his scoring opportunities, but was unable to capitalize on three big chances, the first two coming from another save from Sels and a block on the line from Ola Aina, before failing to save a left-footed volley downward.
Belgian central defender Sels also equalized in the final stages when Dominik Szoboszlai’s long-range shot went just wide of the post in stoppage time.
