rewrite this title Slot ‘couldn’t ask for more’ vs. contenders Forest

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said he “couldn’t have asked for more” from his side against title contenders Nottingham Forest.

Forest held the league leaders to a 1-1 draw at The City Ground on Tuesday night, with a Diogo Jota header in the second-half cancelling out an early goal by the in-form Chris Wood.

Liverpool looked far from their best against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, but they remain six points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with a game in hand on many of the teams below them, and Slot was quick to commend the efforts of his players after the match.

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“I couldn’t have asked for more today,” the Dutchman said. “I think that most people would talk really positively about the second half but if you play at this ground against this team who are in such good form, hardly concedes a chance in every single game, and have so many counter-attack threats.

“We conceded only one counter-attack today in 98 minutes of football. That’s total domination.”

He added: “Being 1-0 down here, and they’re so hard to score against this team. It’s not what we wanted. We wanted three points, but what I want and what the fans and the players should want is for them to give it their all during every single game they play and that’s what they did today.”

It was another impressive display by Forest, though goalkeeper Mats Selz was forced into action several times in the second half to keep out Jota and Cody Gakpo.

Asked whether he views Forest as genuine title contenders, Slot said: “I don’t think they are here because of luck. For every team, they are difficult to play against. They have already had some difficult away games, against [Manchester] United, [Man] City, Arsenal, us.

“That shows you that they are a team that can compete in the top end of the league table.”

Slot’s opposing number felt the same about the performance of his surprise package Forest side and applauded the fans for the “special atmosphere” they created on the night.

“Tonight was a lesson for us, because this is how we want to compete,” Nuno said. “I am very proud of how we played.

“Tonight was a special atmosphere. I don’t look at the league table at this stage, we have to keep going.”