Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner expressed a mixture of pride and frustration after his side battled to a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League, insisting his team had the quality to leave Anfield with all three points.
Forest produced a spirited display against the reigning champions, matching Liverpool for large periods of the contest before Daniel Munoz's late intervention ensured the hosts salvaged a share of the spoils. The result means Forest remain unbeaten in their recent away fixtures against elite opposition, though Glasner made clear he felt his side had let a winning opportunity slip through their fingers.
Speaking after the final whistle, Glasner said he was "proud" of the character and quality his players showed against a Liverpool side that has set the standard in English football in recent seasons. The Austrian coach has been tasked with steadying Forest's Premier League campaign, and performances of this nature against top-six opposition will offer encouragement to supporters and the club hierarchy alike.
Despite the positive elements of the display, Glasner did not hide his disappointment at failing to convert a strong showing into a victory. He suggested that his side had done enough over the course of the match to deserve more than a point, pointing to missed opportunities and moments where Forest could have been more clinical in front of goal.
The draw at Anfield represents another example of Forest's ability to compete with the division's leading clubs, even if converting these performances into results remains a work in progress. Liverpool, for their part, will have been relieved to salvage a point on home turf, particularly given the manner in which Munoz's goal arrived late to deny Forest what would have been a significant scalp.
This fixture continues a pattern of tightly contested matches between the two clubs in recent seasons, with neither side able to find a decisive advantage on this occasion. For Liverpool, the draw means they will need to regroup quickly as they continue to manage the demands of a long domestic campaign, while Forest will look to carry the confidence gained from this display into their upcoming fixtures.
Glasner's comments reflect the broader challenge facing his side this season: producing performances capable of matching the Premier League's elite while also finding the ruthlessness required to turn those efforts into three points. The manager's assessment suggests he sees this match as evidence that his squad possesses the tools to compete at the top end of the table, even if the execution was not quite there on this occasion.
As the season progresses, Forest will hope that displays like this one at Anfield become the foundation for a sustained push up the table, rather than moments of promise followed by inconsistency. For now, though, Glasner and his players must take the lessons from a game they will feel got away from them, despite the character shown throughout the ninety minutes at one of English football's most demanding venues.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.