Liverpool and Nottingham Forest level at half-time at Anfield as Wirtz cancels out Ndoye's opener
Nottingham Forest took the lead at Anfield through Dan Ndoye, but Florian Wirtz equalised soon after, leaving the score at 1-1 at half-time.
Liverpool hosted Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday in a Premier League fixture that marked Andoni Iraola's first home game in charge for the new season. The two sides went into half-time level at 1-1.
How the game unfolded
Liverpool needed an early rescue act in the 11th minute, when Ola Aina's cross from the right picked out Dan Ndoye, whose header found Igor Jesus in the six-yard box — only for young defender Jeremy Jacquet to block the effort at close range, as reported by The Empire of The Kop. The block earned praise on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.
Forest nonetheless took the lead in the 24th minute, with Ndoye beating goalkeeper Alisson Becker to put the visitors ahead. Liverpool responded in the 32nd minute: Jeremy Frimpong combined twice with Florian Wirtz, who swivelled and fired into the bottom corner to make it 1-1, according to The Guardian's live coverage.
Earlier, a Liverpool goal had been ruled out by VAR after Frimpong was judged marginally offside when retrieving Wirtz's initial miscontrol. Both sides also had penalty appeals during the half — Liverpool's Munoz went down in the Forest box, and Forest's Igor Jesus struck the crossbar from the penalty spot after a foul-related passage of play — but no penalty was awarded in either case.
Line-ups and context
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola made two changes from last weekend's 2-2 draw at Newcastle United, bringing Alexis Mac Allister and Isak into the starting eleven while Ryan Gravenberch and Rio Ngumoha dropped to the bench, according to Liverpool FC's official website. New signing Jeremy Jacquet, reportedly signed from Rennes for around £55m, started ahead of loanee Ronald Araujo in central defence.
Ahead of the match, Iraola told TNT Sports pundit Steven Gerrard that he wants his players to show the same commitment supporters would if they were on the pitch — chasing every ball, pressing and fighting for second balls — as a way of building a stronger connection with fans.
The match continued into the second half with both sides creating further chances, though the outcome remained undecided as the game progressed.
