Substitute Diogo Jota’s header denied Nottingham Forest a statement victory over Liverpool in a 1-1 draw at the City Ground within seconds.

Chris Wood gave surprise top-four challengers Forest a dream early lead in the eighth minute and looked to be on course to see off the Premier League leaders with a brilliant performance.

But Jota Erne came to the rescue for Slott’s side in what was perhaps a deserved draw, with Forest stopper Matz Sels making a number of superb saves to earn the hosts a point.

The draw means Liverpool maintain their six-point lead at the top of the table, with Forest moving into second place ahead of Arsenal ahead of tomorrow’s North London derby.

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool

After spending most of the previous seven minutes fending off the league leaders’ early pressure, Wood sent the City Ground into disarray with a typically devastating counter-attack in the eighth minute.

Anthony Elanga’s through ball found the New Zealand international, who took a touch before coolly slotting past Allison for his 13th of the season.

Just listen to that roar 🔊

Chris Wood opens the scoring for Nottingham Forest with a perfectly executed break 🔥

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Liverpool dominated possession in the first half with 71% possession but failed to get any of their nine first-half attempts on target, with Luis Diaz guilty of two wayward shots.

Despite seeing hardly any ball, the hosts remained useful. Murillo wasn’t far behind after Wood’s goal with a long-range effort as the first half ended leaving Arne Slott with plenty to think about.

Jota saves Liverpool

The second half continued to be largely the same as Liverpool continued to struggle to break down a stubborn Forest defence, until the introduction of Jota after the hour mark.

Within 30 seconds of being introduced to save the game for defender Ibrahima Konate, the Portuguese forward was in perfect position to head into the corner from close range and draw Liverpool level.

The 28-year-old was then denied the chance to put the visitors ahead by cutting inside before his shot was saved in the Forest net by Metz Sels.

Definition of immediate effect 😤

Diogo Jota scores with his first touch of the game just 25 seconds after being subbed on ⏰

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Jota continued to lead Liverpool’s push for a winner but was once again thwarted by the brilliance of Sels, who spread himself wide and slotted home from close range with just over 10 minutes to play. Made a wonderful save.

Forest were not ready to relinquish a famous victory, however, as Ilanga’s ball across goal was saved by Jota Silva inside the six-yard box.

Mohamed Salah looked like he finally got his shooting boots on 88 minutes, but couldn’t convert three great chances, the first two thanks to a second Sels save and a block on the line by Ola Aina, who couldn’t keep his left foot. Volley down.

Belgian stopper Sels was again on hand to keep the scores level late on as Dominik Soboszlai’s long-range strike went just wide of the post in stoppage time.