Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was not happy with his players in the locker room at half-time, with a clear message sent before Alexis Mac Allister's late winner
17:15, 22 Feb 2026
Arne Slot looks on during Liverpool's win at Nottingham Forest
Arne Slot looks on during Liverpool's win at Nottingham Forest(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot told his players that they had just produced their worst half of the season against Nottingham Forest, around 45 minutes before Alexis Mac Allister's late winner.
Several Liverpool men performed well below par at the City Ground, with the Reds fortunate to be on level terms at the interval. And after Mac Allister had one goal ruled out for a handball offense, another goal from a similar location was allowed to stand.
Florian Wirtz went off with an injury during the warm-up, though he isn't expected to be out for long. Without him, the Liverpool attack was blunted.
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"Mixed feelings to be honest," Mac Allister admitted live on Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle. "I love scoring, I love winning. But I don't think we played very well. It's always nice when you win.
"[The first disallowed goal did hit my elbow], but I feel like it's a bit harsh. It's a bit of both, but I understand the rules. I thought I would get another one.
"I told Hugo [Ekitike] that this would be our goal, and I'm glad that it went in. We need to analyse what we did well and what went wrong. The intensity wasn't there, but we did what we did to win."
Alexis Mac Allister is mobbed by his Liverpool teammates after his dramatic winner at Nottingham Forest
Alexis Mac Allister is mobbed by his Liverpool teammates after his dramatic winner at Nottingham Forest(Image: Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)
With an unconvincing performance leading to a victory, Arne Slot's wait for a win over Nottingham Forest has come to an end.
"If you score in the last minute, there's always an element of luck, but so many times this season, we've experienced the opposite," Slot said. "A draw would have been a fairer result than a win for us.
"If we rely on one player, then things are not good, but that is not the case. Someone else has to do the job. The first half was difficult because Forest played well and they have good players.
"I wanted more control over their midfield. I highlighted how well they played, but we lost every ball.
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"The only part of the game was defending inside the box. We had to defend a lot of set pieces. We stayed in the game.
"We took over the game in the second half, maybe because they played on Thursday. We scored twice, and I would not have been shocked if both goals were ruled out, but maybe our luck is turning."
Liverpool.com says: The Reds really didn't do well here, and will need to improve quickly. It is promising that they could hang in there and eventually get the points, though. That is a step in the right direction.