Jurgen Klopp is impressed by the "sensational development" of former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi after he scored the winning goal for Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Nigerian international broke the deadlock at the City Ground in the 55th minute to give the Reds a surprise lead. The depleted visitors could not find a way back into the game as Steve Cooper's men sealed their second win of the season to lift them off the bottom of the table.
Awoniyi's winner created a little slice of history as he became the first Forest player to score in each of his first three Premier League starts at the City Ground, according to Opta. His two other strikes came in the 1-0 win over West Ham in August and the 3-2 defeat to Fulham last month.
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The goal also carried added significance for the 25-year-old, who spent six years at Liverpool without making a senior appearance. After the final whistle Klopp said he is glad that one of his former players doing well, although he joked that he isn't too thrilled about it seeing it happening against his own side.
"He had a sensational development," the German told BBC. "He has arrived where he belongs and I am happy for him, but not today so much."
The Liverpool boss also admitted that his side did not practice the formation that took to the pitch against Forest after Thiago dropped out of the squad due to illness. Curtis Jones replaced the Spain international for an unexpected start.
"We played against a deep defending side," he said. "We didn’t train in this formation one second because Jones was not in the plans. He was close and we can see he is now fit which is great, but he didn’t play this position before.
"Then Thiago gets an infection over night and is out and you have to make a decision. Can Henderson start again? I was concerned from the medical department not too long so we changed like this. It was clear we had to get used to it. We didn’t hit the target and the goalie made a sensational save but that’s it now and we cannot change it."
Speaking about the goal, Awoniyi said: "To score against Liverpool is a day I will never forget. I will always to be grateful to Liverpool for scouting me from Nigeria and scoring against them is amazing."
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