Liverpool's 'big disappointment' theory proved wrong after Arne Slot bemoaned setback

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Arne Slot tasted defeat for the first time when Liverpool were beaten by Nottingham Forest at Anfield early in his tenure - and then bemoaned the fact that they'd lost to a team who normally finished in the bottom half.

The Dutchman didn't shy away in saying it as he saw it, despite Forest's impressive start to the season. They were unbeaten in their opening three matches but headed to Merseyside as firm underdogs. The Reds won seven of their first eight games.

Their only slip up coming on their own batch as Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the winner for Nuno Espirito Santo's side. It was the club's first win at Liverpool in any competition since 1969 and Slot was clearly rattled that they'd been beaten by a team who he expected to tail off.

Forest had fought off relegation in their previous two campaigns and gave little indication they were about to embark on a campaign that had them threatening the Champions League spots.

They were sitting in the top four as late as April, eventually finishing seventh but landing a Europa League spot following the Crystal Palace controversy. At the time, though, Slot claimed losing to Forest was "a big disappointment" as he gave a frank assessment of where he thought they were likely to finish.

He said post-match: "Not to the process, but it is a big setback. If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team... we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment. Although, they were organised and structured really well today."

Forest would ultimately lose just four of their opening twenty games and ended up as one of only three teams that Liverpool failed to beat - Arsenal and Fulham being the others - as they dominated the year en route to being crowned champions.

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The Reds would have to settle for a point when they headed to the City Ground in mid-January. By that point Nuno had been the only manager to see off Slot in the Premier League . Chris Wood had the Nottingham faithful believing in a historic double when he put them ahead after eight minutes.

They retained that lead past the hour mark before Diogo Jota came up trumps to equalise with his first touch. Liverpool pushed hard as they sought revenge, but the Forest backline and their goalkeeper, Matz Sels, had nights to remember with the visitors having 23 attempts on goal.

Following the contest Liverpool only led Forest by six points and Slot had certainly changed his tune, claiming that Nuno's side were a threat to them winning the title. He said: "I don’t think they’re up there because of luck. They have been very hard and difficult to play against for every team."

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