Arne Slot hails ‘outstanding’ Nottingham Forest star after late heroics frustrate Liverpool in pulsating 1-1 draw at the City Ground

Arne Slot was left to rue Matz Sels’ stunning performance that denied leaders Liverpool victory in their top-of-the-table clash at Nottingham Forest.

Chris Wood’s goal gave Forest a half-time lead but after substitute Diogo Jota had equalised with his first touch, Sels made a number of incredible saves to earn his team a point.

‘Their goalkeeper is having an outstanding season and it is so hard to score against them,’ said Slot. ‘We conceded only one counter-attack in 98 minutes of total domination but unfortunately they scored from it.

‘In the second half we created a lot of chances but we have to give credit to Nottingham. They defend well and throw themselves in front of every cross.

‘We wanted three points but the players gave it everything they have. We played outstanding football in the second half and created chance after chance.

‘I can’t remember ever making a substitution that worked as quickly as the one to bring on Jota but I feel no pride in it. We needed goals. Scoring from a set piece was not something I had in mind when I brought him on.’

Matz Sels made a number of crucial stops in the closing stages of the game to keep Forest level

Slot’s men have a six-point lead over Forest with a game in hand yet the Dutchman repeated his claim that Forest are among their title rivals.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men continue to defy expectations with their deep defence and counter-attacking, and they were disappointed only to emerge with a point.

Nuno said: ‘We are a big club. We don’t need to prove to anyone that we are working at a huge club. The players have respect for each other, and they won’t allow anybody to stop believing we can achieve something nice.

‘After the game in the dressing room the players were not judging their performance fairly. They were disappointed that Liverpool had created so many chances. But if they have this feeling, it shows we are progressing slowly towards what we want to become.’

Forest face Southampton at the weekend while Liverpool travel to Brentford.

Slot added: ‘Forest have done well in some difficult away games and that shows you they can compete at the top end of the table. They’ve had most of their players available this season and that’s a compliment to their staff. If they can keep the same players on the pitch, I see no reason why they would drop a lot of points.’