Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was keenly watching Arsenal’s win over Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on Wednesday night, which would normally have raised transfer intrigue. There’s a more elementary explanation now, though, that has enlivened the season so far. Marinakis was watching what is currently a title rival. Forest can still call themselves that after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool that served to bring everything that bit closer. The midweek results had the feel of setting things up for the rest of the season.
Liverpool’s draw represented the first time since going top that their points-per-game dropped under 2.4, which also means it’s the first time since then that their projected return for the season is fewer than 90. That isn’t something that’s happened too much for English champions in the last decade.
