How Nottingham Forest's astonishing, explosive football has poked tactical snobs in the eye - and why Nuno's outliers should be praised for bringing brilliant chaos to the Premier League, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
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It was hardly a bouncer off his long run, but Arne Slot did find a bit of spin. His comments came on Tuesday night, after one of the most breathless halves of the season, when Liverpool left Nottingham Forest with a point and Slot floated a suggestion that one side fancied a draw more than the other.
![[After the game, Reds boss Arne Slot claimed that Forest were happy to settle for a draw]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/11/94238563-14299419-image-a-3_1737200653718.jpg)
Among some healthy praise for the team he faced, this is what he said: ‘There was also a lot of moments where it took a while before the play restarted.’. When he was asked to elaborate, Liverpool’s manager indulged: ‘You want as much playing time as you can, but a team that's happy with the current result wants less playing time as they possibly can.’.
![[But, Nuno Espirito Santo's side are playing an astonishing and explosive brand of football]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/11/94238561-14299419-image-a-4_1737200669276.jpg)
Nothing excessively moany there, but he was searching for a little turn off the wicket. A gentle nudge at perceptions, perhaps. And he would have had a few statistics in his corner, if he felt inclined to use them - 23 shots to six in Liverpool’s favour, 9-0 on corners, 71 per cent of the ball and there was a tedium about the wait for Elliot Anderson to recover from a brush with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shoulder. In the digits, a 1-1 draw might not have looked like much of a return for Slot, after all.
![[Nuno’s team storm their way up the other end of the pitch repeatedly throughout matches]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/11/94238557-14299419-image-a-6_1737200762004.jpg)
But I’d hope we know Forest a bit better than that by now. Nottingham Forest continued their stunning season with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool this week. After the game, Reds boss Arne Slot claimed that Forest were happy to settle for a draw. But, Nuno Espirito Santo's side are playing an astonishing and explosive brand of football.
![[They also have a superb goalkeeper in Matz Sels who is enjoying the best season of his career]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/18/11/94238567-14299419-image-a-5_1737200758040.jpg)
