'I was next to the dugout': Rio Ferdinand shares what he really noticed about Arne Slot during Forest stalemate
Yesterday at 06:15 PM
Liverpool had to settle for a hard-earned point on their travels against high-flying Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Forest have been sensational of late and had the bit between their teeth heading into a surprise top-of-the-table clash with the Reds.
Had Nuno Espirito Santo’s side held on to beat Liverpool, they would have firmly put themselves in the Premier League title race.
Instead, a draw probably just about rules Forest out of that particular fight.
And in the end, they were really holding on against a Liverpool team who were only denied by a brilliant goalkeeping performance from Matz Sels.
Ultimately, a point apiece was a fair result. But according to Rio Ferdinand, that still did not stop some frustration being shown by Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
Rio Ferdinand spots Arne Slot frustration
As the Forest fans were keen to point out at every opportunity, Slot has never really forgotten being beaten by their team at Anfield in September.
The Liverpool head coach has referenced that surprise 1-0 defeat a number of times in the months since and the City Ground let him know their thoughts by singing two or three different chants in his direction.
But while Slot would likely have been unbothered by the treatment from the terraces, he was more concerned by the refereeing performance from Chris Kavanagh.
Slot was spotted going mad at Kavanagh during the first-half and according to Ferdinand, that continued into the second period.
“I was next to the dugout throughout that game and in the second-half he was very frustrated with some of the decisions being made by the referee,” the former Man United defender told TNT Sports.
“He was very animated and you could sense that there.”
Slot every right to be frustrated
Although Liverpool did well to rally and should really have ended up winning the game on Tuesday, Slot did not look happy for the most part on the touchline.
Perhaps his need to avenge the early season loss at Anfield was a little too great, but he was a ball of nervous energy on the touchline.
Nevertheless, the Dutchman does indeed have every right to be annoyed with the referees.
Although the most egregious decision was not to award a fairly blatant second-half penalty for two separate fouls on Mohamed Salah, there were plenty of small issues long before that, too.
Murillo’s deliberate bodycheck on Luis Diaz was one particular highlight and there were more besides. No wonder Slot was wound up.
