Sean Dyche is the latest Nottingham Forest figure to hint at Liverpool being a soft touch, following his side’s 3-0 victory at Anfield.
The Reds are licking yet more wounds after Saturday’s dire defeat at Anfield, with Arne Slot now under growing pressure to save his job.
Liverpool were alarmingly easy to beat once they went behind, and when asked by reporters if he was concerned about a comeback from the hosts, Dyche gave an honest response.
“From years of doing it, I think it feels different,” Dyche said.
“When I was a younger coach, I would have thought, ‘this could change at any second,’ but your gut instinct sometimes is correct.
“I thought the way the team were handling their performance got stronger as the game went on.
“Of course, goals and scoreline build a different feeling and performance, but they can hurt you these teams.
“I’ve played in other games, you know I have with the teams I’ve worked with, where you think you’ve got them and then the game gets away from you.
“So you can’t guarantee it, but my feeling was we gave a really good performance tactically to make sure they didn’t really get too much in the way of real threat.”
A season of mental and physical struggles for Liverpool
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, November 22, 2025: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Liverpool have been off the boil since the opening day this season, with five early wins in a row masking some hugely unconvincing performances.
The brutal reality is that the Reds look weak mentally, appearing to be beaten when they go 1-0 down in many games.
Murillo’s opener for the Forest on Saturday was also the ninth goal Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in 2025/26 to date, outlining their physical struggles.
4 – Liverpool are just the fourth side to start a season as defending champions in the Premier League with 6+ defeats in their first 12 games, after Blackburn Rovers in 1995-96 (6), Chelsea in 2015-16 (7), and Leicester City in 2016-17 (6). Crumbling. pic.twitter.com/ZgUn7u96k6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 22, 2025
The Premier League has become noticeably more direct, with long throws and set pieces coming to the fore, and Jamie Carragher recently claimed that the champions have been left behind.
“I do think the people buying the players and the manager have tried to take a team of last season that won the league but in Slot’s eyes he wanted it to be more sexy, more entertaining,” Carragher said.
“He’s always speaking about PSG, he loves Pep. You know he’s trying to move that team to more football and more goals, and the league has moved that way.
“The league has gone powerful, set-pieces, long throws and Liverpool have been left behind. They’ve almost just got it wrong, the way the game’s going.”
The fact that Dyche didn’t feel concerned about his team blowing their lead at Anfield is a damning indictment of their form.
Forest never looked like not winning as soon as they went 1-0 up, and sadly, the same can be said of many of Liverpool’s opponents this season.