Fresh from a morale-boosting win over Leeds United last time out, Liverpool knew another positive performance was needed against a struggling Forest side, who were winless in their last 10 league matches.
True to form, it was the hosts that dominated the opening half-hour, with Cody Gakpo firing a speculative effort narrowly wide and Virgil van Dijk seeing a close-range header superbly tipped over the bar by Keylor Navas.
Having suffered just one defeat in their previous 37 PL matches at Anfield, Liverpool continued to probe for an opener before HT.
However, Diogo Jota spurned the Reds’ best opportunity, inexplicably heading wide from inside the six-yard box as the Forest rearguard held firm to keep the scores level going into the interval.
The Reds emerged after the restart desperate to build on their first-half dominance, and duly found the breakthrough within two minutes as Fabinho’s header across the six-yard box was converted by Jota.
Undeterred by the setback, Forest responded in impressive fashion with a surprise equaliser just four minutes later from former Liverpool player Neco Williams, who drilled a deflected effort beyond Alisson.
This did little to stem the Reds’ momentum, however, as Jota swiftly restored their lead, firing a clinical strike into the bottom corner from Andrew Roberton’s clever free-kick.
In a second half full of drama, the goals continued to flow, with Morgan Gibbs-White levelling the scores for a second time before Mohamed Salah notched his 16th PL goal of the campaign to put Liverpool ahead going into the final 15 minutes.
Having lost to Forest in the reverse fixture back in October, the hosts knew the final stages would be far from straightforward, and the Tricky Trees came within inches of snatching a late equaliser when substitute Brennan Johnson lifted a delicate effort onto the bar.
For all their spirit and never-say-die attitude, this was as close as Forest came to rescuing a point, as the Reds held firm to secure a hard-fought triumph and move within six points of Newcastle United in fourth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
