Steve McManaman gobsmacked by ‘ridiculous’ Arne Slot decision during Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool

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Liverpool fought from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest in an entertaining contest at the City Ground.

Diogo Jota scored 22 seconds after coming on from the bench in the second-half with Liverpool putting up a good fight against a motivated Forest side, who showed why they’re ready to challenge for the Premier League title this season.

With Arne Slot left fuming with referee Chris Kavanagh, it was another difficult game for Liverpool where it felt like every external factor was against them, even with the Reds putting up yet another concerning performance.

Yet Steve McManaman was blown away by one decision Slot made that led to Liverpool coming away with a point.

McManaman praises ‘ridiculous’ double substitute

Speaking on TNT Sports coverage, the former Liverpool star was gobsmacked by Slot’s ‘ridiculous’ decision to bring on Jota and Kostas Tsimikas after the pair connected to put Liverpool back on level terms just seconds after entering the field.

One of the fastest goals ever scored by a substitute in the Premier League era, Jota’s impact was as instant as they come for Liverpool, with the Portuguese international showing immediately why he will be so important for the Reds in the second-half of the season.

And for McManaman, the pundit couldn’t believe how little time it took for Jota and Tsimikas to have an impact on the game, with the substitutes not even needing 30 seconds to transform the game completely for Liverpool.

McManaman said: “How does that work? Tsimikas cross, Jota scores! That is ridiculous, that is ridiculous. One of the smallest men, with all respect, is up between Murillo and Chris Wood to score, an incredible substitute by the manager and an incredible impact by those two.”

Liverpool discovered today Premier League title is far from wrapped up

Liverpool have been the outstanding team in the Premier League this season, even after the Reds hitting a patch of uncertain form after drawing with Manchester United and losing to Tottenham in the League Cup semi-final.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	19	14	4	1	47	19	28	46
2	ArsenalArsenal	20	11	7	2	39	18	21	40
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	20	12	4	4	29	19	10	40
4	ChelseaChelsea	20	10	6	4	39	24	15	36

And even with a game in hand, Liverpool discovered today against Forest that the Premier League is far from being wrapped up, especially if Arsenal are to break their own run of bad form tomorrow and beat Tottenham in the North London Derby.

Indeed, Liverpool will need to dig deep and to remain focused if they’re to go the distance in the Premier League, and the Reds found out in Nottingham this evening that they are still some way off from comfortably securing the title.