Liverpool were not at their best in their 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in the Premier League on Sunday, but they got the job done.
A 97th-minute winner from Alexis Mac Allister sealed all three points for the away side, just minutes after the Argentina international had a goal ruled out for handball.
Dominik Szoboszlai, as he has been for most of this season, was one of the most influential players on the pitch for the Reds, as it was his cross that led to the goal, initially creating the chance for Virgil van Dijk.
Szoboszlai-Gakpo-Konate-Liverpool
The Hungary international started the game at right-back and moved into central midfield when Joe Gomez came on, and he showcased quality on both sides of the ball, winning six of his 11 duels and creating five chances for the team.
Szoboszlai has now scored ten goals and created 14 'big chances' in all competitions for the Premier League champions this season, making him undroppable for Arne Slot.
Liverpool player ratings vs Nottingham Forest
Whilst the former RB Leipzig star excelled with his performance on the pitch and Mac Allister scored the winning goal, there were several players who underperformed.
Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah on the wings, for example, both struggled and came off in the 77th minute before Liverpool went on to win the match in stoppage time, and have to score below 5/10 ratings.
Curtis Jones, unfortunately, should score a 3/10 rating after replacing Florian Wirtz at the last-minute. He made three errors that led to shots for Forest, without creating a single chance for his own teammates.
|Rating Liverpool's starters vs Forest|
|Player|Rating|
|---|
|Alisson|7.5/10|
|Dominik Szoboszlai|8/10|
|Ibrahima Konate|8/10|
|Virgil van Dijk|7/10|
|Milos Kerkez|6/10|
|Alexis Mac Allister|7/10|
|Ryan Gravenberch|5/10|
|Mo Salah|4.5/10|
|Curtis Jones|3/10|
|Cody Gakpo|4/10|
|Hugo Ekitike|5/10|
Hugo Ekitike had some nice moments in the game, completing three of his four dribbles, but he failed to find the back of the net from any of his three shots, including a header from six yards out that led to Mac Allister's disallowed goal.
hugo-ekitike-liverpool-forest
There were also some positives to take away from the match that were not just Szoboszlai's continued importance, though, as another star has emerged as being as undroppable as the Hungarian.
The Liverpool star who is as undroppable as Szoboszlai
It has been a rocky season for the Reds after they won the Premier League title last term, as they have lost eight of their 27 Premier League games and are sixth in the table at the time of writing.
arne-slot-liverpool-forest
Slot's side have had some tricky spells this year and several players have struggled, including central defender Ibrahima Konate, whose contract expires this summer.
Earlier this season, podcaster and writer Eddie Gibbs described the defender as "Liverpool’s most alarming fault line" who "looks like a footballer fighting his own reflection".
That was not an overly criticial thing to say at the time, because the France international has made six errors that have led to shots, goals, or penalties in the Premier League and the Champions League.
ibrahima-konate-liverpool
Unfortunately, Konate's performances in the first half of the campaign were littered with those mistakes at the back, which made him look like the weak link in Slot's team, but injuries to Geovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez meant that he had to ride it out and play through those mistakes.
That may have been a blessing in disguise for the former RB Leipzig central defender because he has turned his form around to look as undroppable as Szoboszlai at the moment.
Vs Forest Konate
Minutes 90
Ground duels won 3/6
Aerial duels won 3/6
Tackle success rate 100%
Clearances 5
Blocks 1
Dribbled past 0x
Errors 0
Konate was a dominant force at the back against Forest, winning both of his attempted tackles without being dribbled past a single time, and helped the Reds to keep a clean sheet for the second Premier League match and third game in all competitions running.
The French colossus also won five of his nine duels without being dribbled past against Brighton in the FA Cup, and won eight of his nine duels in the 1-0 win over Sunderland in the Premier League recently.
Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate
Konate, who has won 69% of his duels in the Premier League, has played a pivotal role in the last three successive clean sheets with his dominant performances in defence, and is looking more like the star that won the title with the Reds in the 2024/25 campaign.
After a lot of struggles earlier this season, with six errors that led to shots, goals, or penalties, the 26-year-old star now looks undroppable, just like Szoboszlai, and needs to maintain his current level until the summer.
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