Luis Díaz was a notable absentee from Liverpool’s matchday squad against Nottingham Forest, following reports that his parents had been kidnapped in his native Colombia. Ahead of kickoff, the latest updates indicated that his mother had been rescued – but searches were still ongoing to ascertain the location of his father.
LIV: Alisson; Tsimikas, van Dijk, Konaté, Alexander-Arnold; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Diogo Jota, Núñez, Salah
NFO: Turner; Aina, Murillo, Niakhaté, Boly, Aurier; Domínguez, Sangaré, Mangala, Gibbs-White; Elanga
With emotions running high at Anfield as players and fans came to terms with the developing story, an emotional scene was cut after just thirty minutes when Diogo Jota held Luis Díaz’s shirt aloft while celebrating his opener. Darwin Núñez’s initial effort had been parried into the path of the Portuguese winger, who made no mistake with a simple finish.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt took just four minutes for Núñez to get a goal of his own though, doubling the home advantage as he slammed Dominik Szoboszlai’s cutback past Matt Turner – ensuring the Reds held a comfortable two-goal margin at the half-time interval.
Turner would prove to be influential in avoiding an embarrassing scoreline on Merseyside as he leapt to deny both Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, though it was a mistake from the ex-Arsenal ‘keeper that allowed Mohamed Salah to fire home a third goal of the afternoon when he tangled with Harry Toffolo.
It could have been four for Liverpool in stoppage time, with Cody Gakpo poking home Harvey Elliott’s square ball into the box – only for the Dutchman to be ruled offside by VAR.
Nottingham Forest’s away woes continue, although their fine home form ensures they sit five points clear of the relegation zone. It’s a much prettier picture for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool though, with the Reds just three points behind current league leaders, Tottenham Hotspur.
