Steven Gerrard slammed Jeremie Frimpong, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo as Liverpool headed into half-time trailing during their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
Dan Ndoye provided a tidy finish inside the area 24 minutes in to give the visitors the lead at the 12.30pm kick-off at Anfield. Florian Wirtz thought he had equalised for the Reds less than 10 minutes later, tucking away from a similar position on the opposite end of the pitch. However, the German attacking-midfielder's goal was ruled out moments later due to Frimpong being in an offside position in the build-up.
Gerrard's assessment of the defending
As Liverpool walked down the tunnel trailing by a goal on home soil, Gerrard failed to hold his tongue in his assessment of Forest's finish. The goal sprung as a result of a long-ball from Matz Sels, with Igor Jesus bursting through the backline and bringing it down with a perfect first touch.
While Mac Allister made contact to dispossess Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White was in a fantastic position to immediately spread the ball to Ndoye, who was in acres of space as a result of Gakpo and Frimpong being out of position and leaving a huge hole on the right.
Breaking down the shoddy showing of defending, Gerrard said: "There's the punt, you've got to win the first ball - this ball here, it's very important that Mac Allister wins it. If not, Cody Gakpo has got to be back in position.
"They've switched positions on the right-hand side. So Frimpong's gone for the first press, Gakpo has to become the right-back, he has to recover quicker, get back into defence, get back into position and make sure Ndoye doesn't get that shot on goal. Unfortunately, he doesn't. He's ball-watching and they get punished for it."
Second-half comeback and late drama
Liverpool started the second half in brighter fashion, with Alexander Isak levelling matters on the 60-minute mark, Gakpo finding the Swedish striker at the back post for a tap-in. However, the Reds were silenced once again 10 minutes later when Gibbs-White converted from the spot.
Neco Williams was bursting into Alisson's box when the goalkeeper was forced off his line to defend his goal. The Brazilian caught the Forest full-back on the leg after the ball was played, with Sam Barrott immediately pointing to the spot.
While Virgil van Dijk did his best to put James McAtee off his game as he stood waiting 12 yards out, the midfielder passed the ball over to Gibbs-White, who hit it straight down the middle to make it 2-1. Gakpo and Frimpong were also subsequently replaced by Ryan Gravenberch and Kostas Tsimikas after poor respective performances.
Match ends level
In a game filled to the brim with twists and turns, summer signing Victor Munoz was the man to make it all-square once more with around 10 minutes left to play - firing hard past Sels as the ball bounced off the crossbar and over the line.
The match ultimately finished 2-2, with Liverpool and Forest taking a point from the clash after a tense battle in front of the Kop. Liverpool now prepare for a game with Ipswich Town at Portman Road come Friday, September 4, while Forest look to a match against Tottenham Hotspur at the City Ground a day later.
