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ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool fell to another heavy home defeat, this time at the hands of Nottingham Forest, as Arne Slot oversaw a dire loss 3-0 on home soil.
Murillo beat Alisson Becker with another goal conceded by Liverpool from a set-piece in the first half, and shortly into the second, Nicolo Savona made it 2-0 when he finished well unmarked in the penalty area. Morgan Gibbs-White finished well for a third.
Set-pieces were a major thorn in the Reds' side again and they lacked creativity, rarely testing Mats Selz in the visiting goal. Here are the five things Liverpool.com spotted as the game unfolded.
Alexander Isak problem clear
There is a tricky balance to be struck with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. The former needs minutes to get up to speed; the latter deserves regular starts because of his early-season form.
How will Arne Slot get the best out of the pair? It is, you would think, much easier to convince either to sit a match out when there is another fixture just a few days away — PSV in the Champions League, in this case.
"Alex, it will still take a bit of time, but he will end up being the player he was at Newcastle if we get him fit, or how he was at Sociedad or all the other clubs he was at – he just needs to become fit," Slot said before the game.
"I do know that a 100 per cent fit Alex is a big, big, big plus for this team. But for him to get there, he might need to have minutes where you could argue that another player might be further ahead of him in terms of match fitness."
It would be fair to say, during a largely anonymous showing, that Isak is still some way off his best. The number nine toiled here and didn't offer much in the way of either movement nor pressing.
There is much work to do. The problem is that he will have to get more game time before things improve, which means it is only likely to get worse before it gets better.
Set-pieces prove costly
In his 50th Premier League game with Liverpool, the Nottingham Forest fans were singing about being 'in Arne Slot's head' during the first half. It is perhaps a fair accusation to level at him.
Liverpool didn't beat Nottingham Forest in either game last season, losing 1-0 at home and then drawing 1-1 away. Here, it started well but then got substantially worse as the first half elapsed.
Once again, Liverpool struggled to deal with a set-piece as Murillo crashed home the opener. Dan Ndoye might well have been in front of Alisson, but the Reds were unable to win the first header.
Only two teams have conceded more than the nine that Liverpool has from dead balls in the Premier League. If that carries on, then the desired improvement in results and position in the table is simply not going to happen.
Arne Slot's bogey team?
Already on its third manager of the season in Sean Dyche, and kicking off second from bottom in the Premier League table, you would be forgiven for forgetting how many good players there are in this Nottingham Forest team (not that Liverpool can use that as an excuse).
Morgan Gibbs-White in the number 10 role and Dan Ndoye, playing from the right, both have quality, and deeper-lying midfielder Elliot Anderson is perhaps the pick of the bunch.
Linked with various European teams and even a big-money return to Newcastle United, Anderson showed why there is a keenness from bigger sides to consider him: he has everything a Premier League midfielder requires.
Physically, he has the ability to scamper across the ground; on the ball, he is excellent. He could be a starter for England at next summer's World Cup, and if he does move, could command a $100M price tag. He was good here, and didn't shirk a challenge in a big game.
Milos Kerkez and Curtis Jones chances
Milos Kerkez was selected here over Andy Robertson, with the Hungarian needing to prove a bit of a point after a mixed start to the new campaign.
He will need to do more than this to ensure that the spot in the team is his moving forward, but this was an alright showing. He offered a few glimpses of being able to link with Cody Gakpo, which can only help, and that relationship is still being worked on.
Curtis Jones, in part thanks to injuries at right-back and to Florian Wirtz, was also back in the side. Selected in midfield, he looked sharp at times. There was one backheel that was delightful near the touchline.
On other occasions, though, he overcooked passes or dwelled on the ball far too long. Like Kerkez, he will need to use this as a base to build on.
For both players, injuries elsewhere and the need for rotation mean they might get some more time on the field in the next few weeks. For that reason, they will need to improve again.
Premier League picture
For now, Liverpool has to focus on getting back into the Champions League places and comfortably securing its spot behind Manchester City and Arsenal. It didn't look like a European team here.
Those two are still to play this weekend, with Pep Guardiola's men at Newcastle United and then Arsenal facing Spurs at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow, but Slot won't be in the mood to discuss them.
This was the start of an easier run of fixtures — at least on paper — for Liverpool. At the same time, Manchester City and Arsenal face more difficult games. That will only matter, however, if the Reds do their part. Currently, they are in the bottom half.
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