Virgil Van Dijk acknowledged that Nottingham Forest provided Liverpool with a “reality check” early in Arne Slot’s reign, as Callum Hudson-Odoi handed the Dutchman his first loss since taking over as manager of Anfield from Jurgen Klopp.
Hudson-Odoi, a replacement, scored immediately after coming on in the second half to give Forest their first victory at Anfield since 1969 and to make it four games without a loss for the Reds under Nuno at the start of this new campaign. Forest won two games in a row and kept a clean sheet by flawlessly executing Nuno’s game plan.
“They gained momentum by taking on and winning the appropriate tasks, and they performed their jobs exceptionally well. However, we didn’t measure up to their level. That is the disheartening aspect of it.
“Overall it was a disappointing afternoon, something we didn’t want to happen but we have to turn this around and make this a sort of a reality check to be better for the rest of the season because if you want to achieve things this season the contrast between the games we played is too big.”