Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool: Diogo Jota scores 22 seconds after coming on to cancel out Chris Wood's opener in thriller at the City Ground
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If there is a more intoxicating and beguiling place to watch Premier League football than the City Ground this season then it must have hidden itself. Once again here a capacity crowd bore witness to another night carved from Nottingham Forest’s great traditions. The team in Garibaldi red punching upwards, steadfastly refusing to bow to expectations or hierarchy. A certain old bloke in an old green jumper would have loved it.
![[Chris Wood's 13th goal of the season had put Nottingham Forest on top early on in the tie]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/14/22/94098529-14285357-image-a-13_1736892412875.jpg)
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest couldn’t quite do it this time. They couldn’t quite turn six league wins on the bounce into seven. Indeed by the end Forest were hanging on, clinging to imaginary branches as a Liverpool tidal wave washed over them. By full-time, their goalkeeper Matz Sels had announced himself as their best player.
![[Once again the City Ground offered up a fantastic game of football on Tuesday evening]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/14/22/94098799-14285357-image-a-14_1736892801336.jpg)
But at the same time this was a scare for Liverpool. Forest’s rope-a-dope tactics had bounced them into an early lead as their centre forward Chris Wood broke away to score. Liverpool, the league leaders, were rattled. They were unsure and anxious. Lots and lots of possession – 71 per cent of it by full-time – but for the first hour at least not a single shot on target.
Substitute Diogo Jota changed that within22 seconds of coming on. His header from a corner levelled the scores. And after that it was all Liverpool. Jota could have had a hat-trick only for Sels to deny him. The Belgian – Forest’s fourth choice buy in last January’s transfer window – then pulled the same trick on Mo Salah while the great Egyptian was also denied by an Ola Aina clearance off the line.
