Nottingham Forest star Ola Aina played Virgil van Dijk onside to set up Liverpool’s 97th-minute winner at the City Ground, but perhaps Hugo Ekitike’s involvement should have seen the goal disallowed.
Whichever way it’s dressed up, Forest were absolutely robbed. The Reds played well in their first Premier League game under Vitor Pereira, but once again found a toothless streak in front of goal.
Who was your Nottingham Forest Man of the Match vs Liverpool?
Igor Jesus was defended by Stan Collymore after a performance that saw him miss a couple of chances, with two goals in 25 Premier League games simply not good enough for the main striker.
Forest conceded in the 97th minute when Alexis Mac Allister scored, but Jay Bothroyd thinks the Reds have every right to feel aggrieved.
Jay Bothroyd thinks Liverpool’s goal should have been disallowed
Bothroyd played in the Premier League and EFL during his career and he’s been discussing the weekend’s incidents on Sky Sports News’ show Ref Watch.
He thinks that Forest should feel very aggrieved not to have seen the goal chalked off with Ekitike offside in a position where the ball is played.
He said: “Ekitike to me, there it looks like he’s in an offside position. I felt at the time that he was interfering with the defenders. At that time, the ball is going into that area, and they’re looking at who is around them. If you’re a defender and you see a striker, you don’t know if he’s offside or not, you just have to react to where the ball is going, to me, he’s interfering.
MORE FOREST STORIES
“Even for that goal, there is a question about whether he’s interfering with play. You can understand why the defending team feel aggrieved there.”
Forest have to stay positive
It’s hard given the current climate and the league table looking more perilous with each passing week, but Forest have to stay positive.
Although VAR didn’t help them out for a second time to rule out another Mac Allister goal, there were still a lot of positives to take from the game against the champions.
The two performances against Fenerbahce and Liverpool have provided a good indicator of what the supporters can expect from Pereira, and hopefully, the spirits can remain high despite this latest setback.
Forest have once again had some bad luck with VAR, but the positives have to stay with the Reds after this defeat, with belief going to be imperative in keeping the team up this season.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox