Salah chasing down Gerrard
Mohamed Salah has reached the stage of his astonishing Liverpool career where almost every time he takes to the field, another landmark homes into view.
Such was the case here against Nottingham Forest, with the Reds forward’s neatly-taken winner moving him alongside Robbie Fowler as joint-sixth in the club’s all-time goalscorers list with 183.
Steven Gerrard, sat in the Main Stand watching on with his son Lio – who was Salah’s matchday mascot and notched a penalty during half-time in front of a delighted Kop – is next on 186, a tally the Egyptian will now hope to match this season and, in the process, post another 30-goal campaign. He's now on 27.
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Salah wasn’t quite at his best against Forest but, as ever, there could be few doubts over his application and work-rate. Whenever knocked down, the forward always comes back for more.
And that was epitomised with the decisive goal, Salah upended for the umpteenth time to win a free-kick out wide, and then brushing himself down before showing real strength to hold off his marker and react quickest to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s whipped delivery by firing in off the far post.
In a season of such flux, the Egyptian has been a reassuring constant. Never take him for granted.
Set-piece reality emerges
There was a time when the constant frittering away of set-pieces prompted one Liverpool fanzine to call itself “Another Wasted Corner”.
Much has changed, though, since those days, particularly under Jurgen Klopp where the importance of dead-ball situations has long been underlined.
And that came to fruition here with all three Reds goals coming from restarts, Forest unable to properly defend first a corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold, and later free-kicks from both the same player and Andy Robertson. No team has scored more goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season than Liverpool with 14.
In truth, it wasn’t dissimilar to the game at the City Ground back in October, although then the Reds were unable to take advantage and crumbled to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat after failing to deal with a rare Forest set-piece of their own.
And that failing was again apparent as the visitors capitalised on Liverpool’s inability to defend long throws from Moussa Niakhate to score their second equaliser, with further flung deliveries causing chaos in the Liverpool rearguard as Brennan Johnson hit the bar and Taiwo Awoniyi scooped an overhead kick narrowly too high.
Certainly, Ibrahima Konate had trouble dealing with the latter second half, while Virgil van Dijk was strangely nervous and hesitant throughout. The centre-back pairing just about held firm in the end, but they'll be grateful of being spared such a barrage again this season.
Reds have Euro vision
There’s been a recurring and unusual aspect running through Liverpool’s fixtures since last month’s international break.
The visit to Chelsea apart – and who wants to remember that? - the Reds have been involved in matches arguably of more immediate importance for their opponents. First title challengers Manchester City and Arsenal in successive weeks, then relegation-threatened Leeds United and, on this occasion, Forest.
Strange for a team that has grown accustomed to fighting for tangible reward until the last day of the season under Jurgen Klopp.
Still, the campaign is not without its targets, the first of which is securing European qualification, Liverpool now only three points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Newcastle United, in the fourth, are a further three points ahead but with a game in hand – tantalisingly close enough to not completely banish hope of a remarkable Champions League berth for the Reds.
And the win made Klopp only the fourth Liverpool manager to earn 100 league victories at Anfield. The German did so in 144 games, quicker than Tom Watson (166) but not quite as swift as Bill Shankly (139) or Bob Paisley (131). Nevertheless, that is rarefied company.
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