Liverpool were forced to fight back twice as Nottingham Forest secured a 2-2 draw at Anfield, denying Andoni Iraola's side victory on the opening day of his tenure as head coach. The result meant Oliver Glasner's Forest avoided defeat for a second successive visit to Anfield, having led twice through Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White before Alexander Isak and substitute Víctor Muñoz salvaged a point for the hosts.
The match was watched by some of Liverpool's ownership group, including principal owner John W Henry, prospective vice-chair Amit Bhatia and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who has backed 1892 Holdings' move to acquire a 38% stake in the club. However, what they witnessed was a repeat of the defensive fragility that has troubled Liverpool of late, following a similarly porous display against Newcastle the previous week.
Forest were the better side for long spells, with Ndoye repeatedly finding space behind Liverpool's back line early on. Igor Jesus also threatened, forcing a smart tackle from Neco Williams and seeing a shot blocked, before the visitors broke the deadlock. Matz Sels launched a long clearance that caught Liverpool cold, allowing Igor Jesus to hold off Jérémy Jacquet and Alexis Mac Allister before laying the ball off to Gibbs-White, who set up Ndoye for a precise finish beyond Alisson.
Liverpool thought they had an immediate response when Florian Wirtz turned home a finish, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for an offside against Jeremie Frimpong in the build-up. Alisson then produced a crucial save just before half-time, tipping Igor Jesus's effort onto the crossbar after Ola Aina had beaten Muñoz down the right flank.
The hosts eventually equalised on the hour mark through a moment of quality from Cody Gakpo, who spun away from two defenders after receiving Wirtz's pass before setting up Isak to tap in his first goal of the season from close range.
However, Forest regained the lead soon after through a penalty. New signing Liam Delap's quick throw-in released Williams into the box, and after his shot flew wide, the former Liverpool full-back was fouled by Alisson, who was booked for his protests. Gibbs-White converted from the spot, sending the ball to the keeper's right as Alisson dived the wrong way.
Iraola's changes altered the complexion of the game, and Liverpool found a second equaliser when Wirtz threaded a pass behind Murillo for Muñoz, who marked his full Anfield debut with a fine finish off the underside of the crossbar. The £34.5m summer arrival from Osasuna had also started the game at right-back before Dominik Szoboszlai ended the match in that position following a string of substitutions.
The draw leaves Liverpool without a win at Anfield so far this season under the new manager, having also been held by Newcastle in their previous home fixture. For Forest, the point continues an encouraging start under Glasner, whose side have now avoided defeat in consecutive trips to Anfield.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.