This was the day Arne Slot discovered that the Premier League wasn’t all fun and games as Liverpool and their manager were outclassed by Nuno Espírito Santo and Nottingham Forest. It was the first defeat of the Dutchman’s Anfield career after Callum Hudson-Odoi beat the hosts with a trademark goal.

Everything Nuno did stemmed from his tactics, team selection and substitutions. His courageous team followed their manager’s instructions to a T to keep Liverpool at bay for 90 minutes, launching countless counter-attacks, with Hudson-Odoi eventually finishing one off the bench to earn Forest their first win at Anfield since 1969.

Nuno’s plan was to pack the middle of the pitch, selecting five central midfielders in an attempt to neutralise Liverpool in the areas they had controlled in their opening three victories. Ryan Yates was made the irritant in chief, having irritated the majority at Anfield with his aggressive play, leading to numerous stoppages as Andy Robertson and Alexis MacAllister required treatment for war wounds.

A goal would have provided much-needed relief, but Luis Díaz hit the post, Diogo Jota sent a good chance straight to Matz Sels and Virgil van Dijk headed a corner wide. Liverpool created chances but were unable to be clinical in the crucial moments before half-time, although Trent Alexander-Arnold worried Sels when he was forced to tip a corner over the bar.

With the central areas crowded, Liverpool were forced to play with more width and it almost resulted in the opening goal when Alexander-Arnold emerged down the left flank. From there he whipped in a dangerous cross for Mac Allister to flick towards goal, but Sels read the situation and dived to his left to palm the ball away.

Liverpool worked hard for an opening goal and nearly got it as a gift from Sels, who tried to steer a looping ball under the bar but let it fall through his own legs. The Belgian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it bounce off the line, while the fans waited to see if Michael Oliver’s watch would vibrate before they grabbed him at the second time of asking.

Frustration was growing around Anfield that they had failed to break Forest down, every misplaced pass was met with groans. They nearly paid the price when Forest countered and the ball fell to Chris Wood who went through one-on-one, but Alisson was equal to his shot.

Forest brought on two wingers to create width, while Slot made a triple substitution to freshen up his wasteful team. The result was a more open game as Liverpool found more space to play and Forest looked more threatening on the counter-attack with the pace of Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga. The latter received the final pass from a breakaway but squandered the chance by firing the ball over from 15 yards, much to the annoyance of Nuno on the touchline.

The Forest manager’s attitude quickly changed as his team moved the ball forward quickly, with Elanga finding Hudson-Odoi on the left. The former Chelsea winger cut inside, with Conor Bradley failing to block his obvious path, before curling past Alisson into the far corner. The away side were euphoric as Liverpool conceded their first goal of the season.

Liverpool huffed and puffed but failed to blow away the stone house of Forest.