Liverpool may have wasted £440m as Forest pile on the pain for Arne Slot | Football | Sport

With just over 20 minutes left on the clock, £165million worth of talent were sat putting on their coats. If Anfield needed a snapshot of Liverpool‘s early season woes, they needn’t have looked further than the sight of Alexander Isak and Milos Kerkez trudging towards the dugout, their team on the brink of a sixth Premier League defeat of the season.

Not merely a sixth loss, but a thorough thrashing at the hands of an impressive Nottingham Forest side – and on home soil. Liverpool’s costly summer is ominously hinting at a grim winter ahead. While it’s grossly unfair to single out one of Slot’s players for criticism – they were all markedly below par – Isak’s record-breaking price tag inevitably puts him in the firing line.

Slot has often commented on Isak’s physical condition, suggesting before kick-off that his £125million striker – who opted out of Newcastle United’s pre-season programme – was still not as fit as the Liverpool management would like him to be. Given that December is just around the corner, this is a peculiar situation.

However, judging by Isak’s performance in this match, that suggestion seemed spot on. The Swedish striker doesn’t seem keen on high-pressing. In fact, he barely got involved during the first half-hour, with only five inconsequential touches to show for it.

In all fairness, he wasn’t the only one who struggled to make an impact in a match where Forest seemed at ease throughout. Before Murillo’s opening goal, there was hardly any moments of quality, and the goal came after Liverpool again failed to clear a corner.

There was some controversy at home over Forest player Dan Ndoye standing offside – with comparisons drawn to Andy Robertson’s penalty at the Etihad – but Liverpool were given some consolation when it was outrageously ruled that Igor Jesus had committed handball before scoring what he believed was Forest’s second goal.

It was an astonishingly poor decision, which is why neutrals would have appreciated Nicola Savona’s neat finish just after half-time. Savona’s execution was good, but it owed much to the hard work of Neco Williams, a former local lad.

This level of effort was something Liverpool failed to match. Forest were superb across the pitch and Elliot Anderson was the standout player of the match.

As you’d expect, Sean Dyche has them well-drilled and Morgan Gibbs-White, who scored a well-executed third goal to seal a stunning victory, is not the only one rediscovering his best form under the relatively new manager.

However, Slot’s team were worryingly lethargic. Again, don’t let Liverpool’s lacklustre performance detract from Forest’s brilliant efforts, but many Liverpool players were outplayed in individual battles.

Murillo and Ibrahim Sangare held their own against Isak or Hugo Ekitike, who was brought on early in the second half. Unlike the exceptional Omari Hutchinson, none of Slot’s substitutes made a significant impact.

Incredibly, Liverpool, who began their title defence with five consecutive Premier League victories, now find themselves in the lower half of the table. Realistically, their title defence is finished.

The home fans, as expected, tried to rally their heavily defeated team, but this has to be one of the worst performances and results under Slot. And, naturally, these six Premier League defeats are seen in an even worse light when considering a transfer window where they splashed out over £440million on players.

Isak and his fellow new signings may eventually prove their worth, but for now, it’s fair to say that it doesn’t look like money well spent – which is quite possibly the understatement of this Premier League season.