Arne Slot’s disappointment was exacerbated by the identity of Liverpool’s conquerors. “Normally this team is not ending up in the top 10,” he said after what, four months on, remains his only defeat at Anfield. It is safe to say Slot did not see Nottingham Forest’s title challenge coming. Then again, neither did anyone else. A reunion comes with Forest not merely in the top 10, but the top three. “Looking back at it and seeing where they are in the league it has not been such a shock result as I thought it was back then,” smiled Slot.
So Forest against Liverpool has become a throwback fixture. Slot cited the five consecutive seasons in the 1970s and 1980s when first Bob Paisley’s Liverpool then Brian Clough’s Forest and then Liverpool again won the old European Cup. Forest’s 1979 triumph came after knocking out the holders, Liverpool. Now there is a genuine prospect they could be rubbing shoulders in the Champions League next season.
