'So frustrating': Steve Nicol says one Liverpool player simply wasn't good enough vs Forest last night
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Liverpool and Nottingham Forest played out a competitive game of Premier League football that ended 1-1 at the City Ground.
The Reds weren’t at their best in the first half but grew into the game to secure a hard-fought point away from home.
Chris Wood broke the deadlock for Forest with a well-taken goal in the first half, but Diogo Jota came on as a second-half substitute to salvage a draw for Liverpool.
It wasn’t their best day at the office and Steve Nicol singled out Mohamed Salah for criticism after his performance against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Steve Nicol criticises Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah
Salah has undoubtedly been the best player in the Premier League this season and has led from the front for Liverpool under Arne Slot.
Against Forest, however, the Egyptian wasn’t at his best and fluffed his lines in front of goal, particularly in the second half.
Starting in attack alongside Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, Salah and the rest of the Liverpool attackers were largely kept at bay by Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo as the Forest duo enhanced their reputations with commanding displays.
And Nicol feels Salah didn’t cover himself in too much glory with his performance as he drew a rare blank for Liverpool this season.
"Salah's frustrating. He really is,” said Nicol on ESPN UK’s YouTube channel.
“It's kind of feast or famine with him – he either stands on it, miscontrols it, gives it away or the next minute, he sticks it in the top corner. That's generally what he does.
“But unfortunately today, the couple of attempts he had weren't quite in the corner and for one, in particular, Sels made a great save. As great as he is, as a genius as he is, he can be so frustrating."
Salah’s stats vs Nottingham Forest
Julen Lopetegui believes Salah has been the best player in the world this season, but it wasn’t his night at the City Ground. However, his underlying numbers from the game suggest he wasn’t as bad as Nicol made him out to be.
- 61 touches
- 76% pass accuracy
- 4 key passes
- 3 shots on target
- 2 shots off target
- 1 big chance created
Nevertheless, the Egyptian has been Liverpool’s best player under Slot and has scored more often than not when he’s been on the pitch, so he’s allowed to have one bad day at the office.
Salah’s form will be crucial to Liverpool’s title hopes and with Arsenal breathing down their necks, he’ll look to get his name on the scoresheet when the Reds face Brentford on Saturday.
