Alisson admits “we had a lack of quality” – 3 points “lost unnecessarily”

The long-awaited return from the international break did not pan out how Liverpool had hoped, with Alisson admitting his side lacked quality at both ends of the pitch.

Arne Slot‘s start to life at Liverpool was as promising as we could have hoped for, but he was dealt some harsh lessons against Nottingham Forest.

Seven of his starting XI played maximum minutes for their country during the break, and you could feel the lethargy from the side as they struggled to get on the same wavelength.

All momentum had been halted and Forest took advantage, with Alisson unsighted for Callum Hudson-Odoi’s winner – a goal that had been coming in the face of Liverpool’s sloppiness.

Speaking after the match, as quoted by BBC Sport, Alisson knows dropping three points was unnecessary, but the team only have themselves to blame.

“It was a shame, losing points at home is not good at all but the opponent today only wanted to defend and play for the long ball,” he said.

“We gave them that too easily when they scored, it was poor defensively from us.

“We couldn’t create much, we had a lack of quality today, we needed more energy. It is three points we have lost today unnecessarily.

“All the opportunities we had were not clear enough and they defended great, they threw themselves in front of the ball.”

Liverpool dominated statistically, but not where it mattered most – on the scoreboard.

The Reds had five shots on target to Forest’s three but managed an xG of just 0.87 – they were toothless and kept the door ajar for the visitors.

As the Brazilian noted, Forest “defended great” having won the duel (55-44) and tackle count (15-9), in addition to making 29 clearances, as per FotMob.

It was not a day for eye-catching Football from Liverpool but, thankfully, we can all move on quickly as the start of the Champions League awaits on Tuesday.