A drab game of football had a wonderful ending as Darwin Nunez kept Liverpool in control of the Premier League title with his late winner against Forest.
Another week, another case of bedlam among the travelling Liverpool supporters, as they celebrated Nunez’s 99th-minute winner.
The goal meant Liverpool could rest at relative ease for another week, knowing they have the upper hand when Man City visit Anfield next Sunday.
With bodies flying everywhere and hundreds of cameras capturing the action, we’ve found six things you may have missed from the Forest vs. Liverpool match.
No mention of this on Match of the Day
Not to mention the FLYING BOOT TO KONATE pic.twitter.com/iYVv3WwQCD
— ? (@thegreyrock) March 3, 2024
Since full-time there have been plenty of complaints about how referee Paul Tierney incorrectly awarded a drop ball to Liverpool in injury time.
While this may be the case, over two minutes passed between that happening and Nunez scoring.
Another crucial thing that many are choosing to forget, including Match of the Day’s Alan Shearer and Jermaine Jenas, is that Ibrahima Konate was kicked in the head so Liverpool should have had a free-kick anyway, prior to the drop-ball decision.
Elliott wearing Origi shirt
elliot wearing origi’s shirt ? pic.twitter.com/4FoiZds6nj
— nadine (@szobocore) March 2, 2024
He might have been the enemy for 90 minutes on Saturday, but Divock Origi holds a special place in the heart of Liverpool supporters, including Harvey Elliott.
After the game, we saw the boyhood Red swap shirts with Origi then celebrate in front of the away fans, while holding a child who was also enjoying the moment.
The Belgian moved on from Liverpool over 18 months ago, but it is still strange to see him in another club’s colours after forming so many iconic moments with the Reds.
After the game, he also shared a nice moment on the pitch with Jurgen Klopp, in which the two could be seen embracing.
Soak it in, Darwin
He may not have been on the pitch much recently, but Nunez has still managed to endear himself to supporters even while out injured.
His celebrations in the League Cup final showed his passion for the club, and he got to write the story for himself on Saturday.
After scoring, he could be seen with Virgil van Dijk, enjoying the acclaim from supporters while soaking the sight in, savouring the moment.
Calm as you like
? – Dangerous cross in but Virgil van Dijk heads it back to his goalkeeper fully composed. World class defending. pic.twitter.com/NnknqGKY0G
— ??? ???? ? (@TheEuropeanLad) March 2, 2024
Football songs are usually full of hyperbole, but Van Dijk really was ‘calm as you like’ in this precarious moment during the first half against Nott’m Forest.
This was an incredibly tricky piece of defending to pull off.
Not only did he have to execute a difficult skill perfectly, to head the ball softly back to Kelleher, but he also had to have the presence of mind to stay calm and do so, with Origi and Morgan Gibbs-White ready to score a certain goal if anything went wrong.
Up-close celebrations
Thank me later lads pic.twitter.com/Vp5rZRBipL
— Patch wright (@Patchwrightt) March 2, 2024
One of the all-time great let-offs in the away end was captured from multiple angles, including a mobile phone that Van Dijk picked up in the melee, as you can make out in the above video
The moment wasn’t completely natural, as it was the phone used by Liverpool as part of their partnership with Google Pixel, but it was still fantastic to see the players’ emotions at such close proximity.
Below is the video captured from the phone.
A truly incredible angle of Darwin’s winner and then celebrations shot by the skipper ??#AD | #TeamPixel pic.twitter.com/humiZ1djWl
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 2, 2024
That bit sweeter
This video was taken from the other end of the ground and satisfies the Liverpool taste for different reasons.
Fantastic viewing pic.twitter.com/FVCLr0aoA0
— Tom Lee ? (@tomozlee09) March 2, 2024
After many Nott’m Forest fans had spent much of their afternoon chanting about serious social issues, rather than supporting their football team, it made the winner that extra bit sweeter.
Make sure you have the sound on for this one to hear how a few of the home supporters acted to the Reds’ late triumph.
Mac Allister’s at home
Alexis Mac Allister was arguably Liverpool’s player of the match on Saturday and his partner was there to see him.
It is clear from her Instagram story that she was loving being among the Liverpool supporters. It is great to see players and their families taking to the club so quickly!