Liverpool lose at Anfield: Is the Slot honeymoon over?

Liverpool lose at Anfield in week 4 of a premier league season. 

It is in all accounts a very strange narrative for Liverpool, considering how famed the Anfield ground had become in the last 4-years, with the Reds even going on a lengthy unbeaten streak and swallowing every opponent that dared cross Liverpool. But like a certain manager once said, ‘eras do come to an end’, and it appears the mystic that is Anfield, has ran its course.

The Merseyside team fell to a shocking defeat to their visitors, Nottingham Forest, who on the day came with nothing more than a business-like approach to battling the Reds. Like thieves, they stole into Merseyside and walked off with all 3-points, leaving Liverpool to walk alone with nothing.

Quite the surprising tie one would say, considering how well the Reds played, maintaining possession and controlling it within the first 45-minutes of the game, albeit failing to score.

Their usual suspects of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota who started the game, were rather a pale reflection of the lethal forwards they were, with Salah arguably the worse of the trio in getting past the Forest defence.

One would argue that it wasn’t Liverpool’s day to ramp its opponent up and send them back to wherever they came from, but the Head Coach Arne Slot, may have played himself to a corner judging by some key substitutions he made during the game.

Slot’s reluctance to take off players who weren’t really at it, particularly Mohamed Salah and removing Andrew Robertson who was still very much at it, proved rather lethal as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side utilized every tactic available to them to null whatever Liverpool could come with.

Former Chelsea man, Callum Hudson-Odoi was the villain whose goal as cool as it was, hurt the Reds the minute it skipped past the grasp of Alisson Becker.

The Reds had raced to amass 9-points from 9 after their first 3 premier league fixtures, with the 3-0 victory over Manchester United one of Arne Slot’s highlight since standing in the Anfield dugout, but Nottingham Forest has exposed whatever lapses that are prevalent in this Liverpool team, and it will be interesting to see how the Reds go from here.

Will this game mark the end of the Arne Slot honeymoon? Or is Nottingham Forest, did much needed lesson that Arne Slot must take into focus in the next run of games Liverpool will face?

One thing is however certain, Liverpool have a long road to go before they can be seen as a serious challenge for any trophy this season.