Liverpool extended their winning run to three matches in all competitions with a victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexis Mac Allister scored in stoppage time to seal all three points for the Reds, having had a goal ruled out for handball just minutes before the one goal that did stand.
Reds supporters were still made to worry about the second time the midfielder found the back of the net because of a potential offside on Virgil van Dijk, but he was found to be onside by the thinnest of margins.
Whilst the officials may have been frustrating for fans and the club, due to the situations around both of Mac Allister’s ‘goals’, there were some Liverpool players who were even more frustrating.
For the next Premier League game against West Ham, Arne Slot may want to drop both of his wide players after their performances against Forest.
Why Liverpool need to change both of their wingers
Cody Gakpo started on the left wing for the Reds and should be dropped for the clash with the Hammers because of his disappointing run of form for the club.
The Dutchman has scored one goal and provided no assists in his last 11 appearances in all competitions, and one goal and no assists in his last 12 outings in the Premier League.
He is not the only winger who should be taken out of the firing line against West Ham, though, because Mohamed Salah should also be dropped from the side, for the second time this season.
|
Vs Forest |
Gakpo |
Salah |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
77 |
77 |
|
Shots on target |
0 |
0 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
1 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
1 |
|
Successful dribbles |
0 |
0 |
|
Possession lost |
8x |
20x |
Gakpo and Salah lost possession 28 times between them and only created one chance, whilst failing to register any shots on target, as Liverpool struggled to create for most of the game.
The winning strike then came after both players had already been withdrawn from the match and Rio Ngumoha came off the bench to complete two dribbles and create one ‘big chance’ in just 13 minutes on the pitch.
Whilst Salah and Gakpo should be dropped for their ineffective performances on Sunday, there was a Liverpool player who was even worse than both of them.
The Liverpool flop who was worse than Salah and Gakpo
Slot has several big decisions to make for the game against West Ham because several players failed to step up and perform, despite the win, against Forest.
Liverpool were hit with an unwanted disruption during the warm-up when Florian Wirtz pulled up and needed to come out of the matchday squad at the last minute, which meant that Curtis Jones replaced him in the XI.
Unfortunately, the player who replaced Wirtz in the team ended up being the most underwhelming performer on the pitch for Slot, as Jones struggled throughout his time on the pitch.
In 83 minutes on the field, the England international created more chances for Forest (three) than he did for Liverpool (zero), with three errors that directly led to shots for the opposition. His loose passing in his own half let the team down on several occasions, three of which led to shots.
There were too many moments where Jones held onto the ball for too long, delaying the pass or dribble, and he ended up gifting the ball back to the home side.
On top of his struggles in possession for Liverpool, the central midfielder also lost the majority of his duels, winning just three out of 12, and did not make a single tackle in 83 minutes.
|
Vs Forest |
Curtis Jones |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
83 |
|
Big chances missed |
1 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Duels won |
3/12 |
|
Tackles won |
0 |
|
Error led to shot |
3 |
Jones, therefore, let the side down with his work in and out of possession for the Reds because he was ineffective on the ball, made several errors, and was too weak off the ball.
He was even worse than Gakpo and Salah because neither of Liverpool’s starting wingers made an error that led to a Forest shot, and neither of them missed a ‘big chance’, as Jones did.
Slot could move Joe Gomez to right-back and bring Dominik Szoboszlai back into the side in the middle of the park in order to drop Jones from the line-up, if Wirtz misses any future matches with the injury that kept him out of Sunday’s match.
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