That Liverpool would be at the top, and maybe even lead the Premier League in January, is no great sensation. But that Nottingham Forest is one of the top challengers is a much bigger surprise.
On Tuesday, the teams clashed in a hot, but unexpected, top meeting. And Nottingham Forest showed once again that they don't need to apologize for being at the top.
It was indeed the home team that took the lead as early as the eighth minute, and, as so many times before, it was the New Zealand-born striker Chris Wood who was last on the ball and gave Nottingham the lead. The goal was his 13th in the league this season.
The assist was provided by Swedish Anthony Elanga, and thereby he scored points in his sixth consecutive Premier League match.
Liverpool controlled the game, but didn't manage to equalize in the first half. Instead, it would take until the 66th minute before the league leaders finally broke through Forest's defense. The recently substituted Diogo Jota got his head on the ball and equalized.
But that was as far as it went for Liverpool. The match ended in a draw, and Liverpool failed to win against Nottingham Forest once again. The first meeting between the clubs this season ended 1–0 in favor of the successful team.
The result means that Nottingham goes past Arsenal to second place in the table, with one more game played. Liverpool still leads, but with a narrow margin.
Neither Manchester City nor Chelsea managed to win on Tuesday evening. Both teams played 2–2 in their respective matches, City against Brentford and Chelsea against Bournemouth.
