News update:From what it looks it a last warning for Steve Cooper of Nottingham Forest
You could take your pick from moments to sum up Nottingham Forest’s miserable afternoon on Merseyside.
From losing Chris Wood in the build-up to Nicolas Dominguez falling face-first into the turf after failing to connect with a ball into the box. From Steve Cooper being booked (he wouldn’t say what for) to a calamitous third goal.
The Reds were comfortably beaten. Too easily at times.
They were also masters of their own downfall, with individual mistakes once again proving costly. Positives were in short supply as Liverpool triumphed 3-0 at Anfield. Below, we take a look at some of the main talking points from the match.
Some have questioned Cooper’s game plan after the visitors struggled to even land a glove on their opponents in the first half. The aim was to try to contain Liverpool for as long as possible, while looking to catch them on the counterattack. It was all in the hope that Forest would still be in the game by the time they were able to make changes from the bench.
Some have accused Cooper of being too negative. But to a large extent, his hands were tied by player availability.
Up until Chris Wood suffered a hamstring injury which is expected to rule him out for the next month, the Reds boss had been planning to go with a four-man defence. Last-minute, those plans had to change in order to accommodate the fact there was no recognised striker fit to start.
Forest had to field a makeshift attack, with Anthony Elanga (who had recovered from illness) playing as a No.9 and being supported by Morgan Gibbs-White. When substitutions were made with 20 minutes to go, with Taiwo Awoniyi coming on, the Reds looked better for it.