Nottingham Forest stun Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield as Gibbs-White fires third consecutive goal

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Anfield, the defending Premier League champions were dismantled — not by a rival at the top of the table, but by a team that spent last season fighting relegation. Nottingham Forest walked out of Liverpool with a 3-0 victory on Matchweek 12 of the 2025-26 English Premier League seasonAnfield Stadium, their first win at the ground since 1999. And the man who sealed it? Morgan Gibbs-White, whose left-footed finish in the 72nd minute completed his first-ever streak of three consecutive league goals.

How Forest broke Liverpool’s spirit

The script had Liverpool written all over it: early dominance, Salah dancing down the left, Klopp’s high press humming. But something was off. The ball didn’t stick. The passes didn’t connect. And when Omari Hutchinson drove into the box in the 46th minute, Alisson Becker made a save — but it wasn’t clean. The rebound bounced straight into Gibbs-White’s path. No hesitation. Left foot. Goal. The stadium fell silent. Not the kind of silence that follows a great save. The kind that follows a collapse.

That goal was the exclamation point. The damage had already been done. Minutes into the second half, Forest doubled their lead — a goal NBC Sports’ broadcast described as happening "barely 40 seconds in," though the scorer remains ambiguous in transcripts. Some sources mention "Mono" or "Mallister," likely misheard names. One thing’s certain: Forest didn’t wait for Liverpool to find their rhythm. They attacked it.

A defense that remembered how to shut down Salah

For years, Mohamed Salah has been the reason opponents lose sleep. Not today. Nikola Milenković, Forest’s Serbian center-back, shadowed him like a ghost. In the 8th minute, Salah cut inside, spun, and fired — only for Milenković to slide in and block with his chest. Later, in the 485th second of highlight footage, he closed the door again. No space. No time. No magic.

And then there was Joe Williams, Forest’s unheralded English midfielder, who didn’t just defend — he disrupted. His 384th-second turn away from Liverpool’s Savona wasn’t flashy, but it was intelligent. It broke the rhythm. It forced errors. And when Forest outnumbered Liverpool in the box — as NBC commentator noted — it was because Williams and Gibbs-White were always one step ahead.

The Liverpool malaise deepens

This wasn’t just a loss. It was a statement. Liverpool, who finished last season with 92 points and the title, now sit in ninth with 22 points after three straight defeats. Their last home loss to Forest? February 1999. That’s 26 years. And now? They’re leaking goals. Losing composure. Watching their lead evaporate — not just in the table, but in belief.

"The Liverpool malaise continues," said NBC’s commentator, a phrase that now echoes louder than any anthem at Anfield. The team that once tore apart defenses with precision now struggles to string five passes together. Alisson, normally a rock, was forced into three desperate saves. Trent Alexander-Arnold, usually the architect, looked lost. And the fans? They didn’t boo. They just stared. As if waiting for someone to explain what went wrong.

Why this win matters more than the points

For Nottingham Forest, this wasn’t just about climbing to 15th place with 14 points. It was about proving they belong. Manager Nuno Espírito Santo — referred to as "Sha Dich" in a garbled transcript, likely a voice-recognition error — has built something here. A disciplined, counter-attacking unit that thrives on chaos. And tonight, chaos was their weapon.

They didn’t have the ball. They didn’t need it. They waited. They pressed when it mattered. And when Liverpool’s high line left space behind — as it always does — Forest pounced. The disallowed goal at the 72-second mark (allegedly a handball by Éder Militão, misidentified as "Eigor Jesus" in the transcript) could’ve changed everything. But Forest didn’t crack. They kept their shape. And when the chance came, they took it.

This was their first clean sheet against Liverpool since April 10, 1999. That’s 26 years. And they did it without a recognized striker. Without a star name. Just grit, timing, and a midfield that refused to lose.

What’s next? The ripple effect

Liverpool’s next fixture is away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on November 26. A win there is no guarantee. Their form is too fragile. Their confidence, too brittle. Meanwhile, Forest travel to Brentford next — a game they’ll now see as a chance to climb out of the relegation zone. But this result? It changes everything. Players who were written off as relegation fodder now believe they can beat anyone. And in football, belief is the most dangerous thing of all.

For Liverpool, the questions pile up. Is Klopp’s system outdated? Are the squad’s stars past their peak? Or is this just a slump — a blip in a long season? The answer matters. Because if this is more than a slump, then the Premier League’s hierarchy just got rewritten.