**Liverpool were held in their Premier League home opener by Nottingham Forest.**
The visitors took a surprise lead midway through the first half when Dan Ndoye was able to sweep an effort past Alisson in front of The Kop.
Florian Wirtz appeared to draw the Reds level 10 minutes later with a shot on the turn only for it to be overturned for an offside against Jeremie Frimpong.
A leveller finally arrived shortly before the hour mark through Alexander Isak being on hand to meet Cody Gakpo’s cutback to the far post to fire home.
The Tricky Trees retook the upper hand in the 71st minute after Alisson took out Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White duly converted the penalty.
But Victor Munoz drew the hosts level again in the closing stages on his Anfield debut with a superb strike into the roof of the net from Wirtz’s pass.
Andoni Iraola’s side dropped one place in the table to 11th after failing to win their opening two top flight games to start the new head coach’s tenure.
_Here were the key talking points from Anfield:_
Reds need far more than Barcola
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Andoni Iraola made no secret of it beforehand but this game was a stark reminder of how much work Liverpool have to do before the transfer deadline.
The £123 million arrival of Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola will strengthen their attacking options yet other areas still require urgent surgery.
It will have been a wake-up call to 1892 Holdings, who flanked John Henry in the directors’ box for the first time as the Reds’ prospective new investors.
A penny for the thoughts of Amit Bhatia, Lakshmi Mittal and Bryan Baum, the latter acting as Jeff Bezos’ proxy, as they saw Iraola’s side toil for large parts.
Jeremie Frimpong’s role at right-back remains a persistent Achilles’ heel against opponents while, on the opposing side, Milos Kerkez fared little better.
A struggling Dominik Szoboszlai being tasked with stepping in for the ineffectual Netherlands international proved to be a blessing in disguise.
Questions also abound on how sufficiently primed Liverpool’s midfield is for Iraola-ball with the double pivot easily picked apart in successive matches.
Sporting director Richard Hughes may be presiding over his final transfer window at Anfield and on this evidence, it will make or break the season.
Munoz brings ‘Mighty Mouse’ energy
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There was a fitting symmetry that, 55 years apart, two Liverpool summer signings hit the ground running in a home opener with Nottingham Forest.
On an afternoon when Anfield paid a heartfelt pre-match tribute to the late great Kevin Keegan, their latest bright young hope extended the homage.
Granted, Victor Munoz will likely never stack up to the man once dubbed ‘Mighty Mouse’ but two games in, his initial impact was similarly profound.
Fresh from drawing the penalty in last weekend’s draw at Newcastle, the World Cup winner offered a stronger sample in his first start in a red shirt.
Munoz’s arrival earlier from Osasuna raised eyebrows but few talents have successfully graduated from both Barcelona and Real Madrid’s academies.
The 23-year-old was a constant hive of activity on both flanks; offering clever flicks during his runs to keep Forest players second-guessing his next move.
His 82nd minute leveller, struck sublimely off the underside of the crossbar after receiving a Florian Wirtz pass, spared Liverpool’s blushes once more.
Chaos has, more by accident than design, become an early staple in Iraola’s fledgling reign and Munoz is currently the grand architect in the forward line.
Iraola avoids unhappy hoodoo… just
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As they were for Arne Slot’s reign, Forest continue to prove a constant thorn in Liverpool’s side at the start of their latest brave new era under Iraola.
The Tricky Trees produced back-to-back Anfield victories at the Dutchman’s expense and their travelling supporters dared to dream of making history.
Had Oliver Glasner’s side managed to hold on, they would have become only the 13th different club to rack up a hat-trick of successive league wins in L4.
Chants of ‘it’s happening again’ bellowed out from the lefthand corner of the Anfield Road Stand as the visitors twice took the lead on Saturday afternoon.
Just two games in, fresh deja vu would have been potentially damaging at the outset of Iraola’s tenure with doubters already surfacing within the stands.
Failing to take anything against a team in perennial flux, with five managers since Liverpool’s last home win over them in 2023, would be damaging.
Munoz’s late heroics ended the potential pub quiz answer becoming realised but it was a close call, especially after Forest were gifted an unlikely penalty.
That Iraola avoided following in his predecessor’s footsteps was out of good fortune more than anything else and something he will need to guard against.