Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest in the Premier League with Alexis Mac Allister netting a goal late on, shortly after seeing another effort ruled out for handball
17:35, 22 Feb 2026
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira.
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira.(Image: Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira bemoaned the late goal that won Liverpool the points in his first match in charge at the City Ground, calling it "unfair".
Alexis Mac Allister followed up a Virgil van Dijk header deep into stoppage time to earn Liverpool a victory that even Arne Slot admitted was fortunate. Goalscorer Mac Allister, who had minutes earlier seen a goal ruled out for handball, said he had "mixed feelings" after a poor performance.
"That is football," Pereira said on Sky Sports. "It's not fair a lot of times. We played the first half in a fantastic way, creating problems and we deserved to score. We didn't.
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"We played three days ago. Our capacity to press them was not the same and in the end, we conceded.
"We need to accept but the supporters were fantastic. It was a short time with the team and we need to create this special situation. One point is not enough.
"This is football. It is small details and at least one point was OK. They have talent, quality and spirit. If they played the way they played in the first half, then we can get a lot of points."
Alexis Mac Allister scored a late, late winner for Liverpool.
Alexis Mac Allister scored a late, late winner for Liverpool.(Image: Ben Roberts - Danehouse/Getty Images)
"We are very frustrated," Pereira then told BBC Sport. "The way we played the first half was by creating chances and not conceding anything. It was a fantastic first half.
"We know the second half could be difficult because we played three days ago and traveled four hours. We didn't press properly.
"They won the game. In my opinion, one point was the minimum. Zero points is not fair.
"Inside the pitch, we must put the tallest guys where their tallest guys are. That must happen inside the pitch. We didn't. We lost the game in a small detail but we know we need to correct these kinds of things. It's a pity.
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"The supporters were with us until the last minute and they recognised we deserved more than this but that is football. We need to prepare ourselves mentally and tactically for the next game.
"The team has talent. The players have ambition and talent. I am confident we will get points until the end of the season to move forward. One point is better than nothing. We have to come back stronger."
Liverpool.com says: Pereira is right that the Reds got away with one. However, Nottingham Forest didn't have that many clear-cut chances in the first half. His side should have been more clinical.