Victor Munoz scored on his full debut to earn Liverpool a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Anfield, their second successive Premier League stalemate of the new season.
Alexander Isak cancelled out Dan Ndoye's opener before Morgan Gibbs-White's second-half penalty put Forest ahead, only for Munoz to rescue a point for the home side.
National media reaction
Richard Jolly in The Independent noted the contrast in price tags: "Wingers come in different guises and at different prices. On the day Liverpool agreed to pay up to £123m for Bradley Barcola, the man signed for rather less, and with rather less fanfare, again spared Andoni Iraola a first defeat of his reign."
He added: "On Sunday at Newcastle, Victor Munoz won the penalty that produced Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute equaliser. On his Anfield bow, the £34m Spaniard delivered a devastating equaliser."
Jolly also highlighted Cody Gakpo's role: "The Dutchman is scarcely a right winger and faces an uncertain future at the end of the window. If Munoz had a fine introduction, this could prove Gakpo’s goodbye, and his was a valiant effort."
Forest expose familiar frailties
Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail drew parallels with previous Forest visits: "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. No, don’t worry, we’re not making sweeping judgments of Andoni Iraola – although we will come on to him very shortly – but the Nottingham Forest manager."
He wrote: "Oliver Glasner, like Sean Dyche last season and Nuno Espirito Santo the year before, has rocked up at Anfield and exposed Liverpool’s vulnerabilities."
Steele continued: "This time it was only a draw but the same issues were on display for Liverpool. A susceptibility to the counter attack, a lack of ingenuity to break down a stubborn low block, second-best in the physical battles."
Isak and Gakpo under scrutiny
The Mirror's Felix Keith assessed Alexander Isak's performance: "This was supposed to be the season that Alexander Isak began to repay his £125million transfer fee. The 2025/26 campaign was impacted by a non-existent pre-season (of his own making) and injuries. But there are no longer any plausible excuses. It's time to deliver."
Keith also praised Gakpo: "Cody Gakpo has become a divisive player among Liverpool fans, but he's shown his worth already this season, rifling a long-range goal in at St James' Park last weekend before setting up the Isak goal here."
He noted: "Gakpo has transfer attention from Manchester City and Tottenham and his future is up in the air ahead of the 11pm deadline on Tuesday night. Liverpool may have agreed a £123m deal for Bradley Barcola, but Munoz and Rio Ngumoha could do with keeping Gakpo as a team-mate."
Iraola's frustration and the verdict
The Telegraph's Dominic King highlighted a bizarre incident: "Andoni Iraola wanted to talk about his team and their need to improve but how could he concentrate on something so straightforward when he had seen something so bizarre?"
King explained: "It is important, first and foremost, to explain this is not painting a narrative about Liverpool being unfortunate. Far from it. Iraola hissed his dismay that Nottingham Forest had shown more intensity and been the better team for long periods in an entertaining 2-2 draw."
He added: "But the penalty that changed the contest? Iraola, his coaching staff, even the supporters behind the dugout had been left flabbergasted that the malfunctioning number board of fourth official Tim Robinson presented an avenue for Forest to exploit."
The ECHO's verdict concluded: "If it's fair to say Liverpool remain a work in progress, they are at least committed to making their journey towards being the finished product an exhilarating ride it seems. That, for the neutral at least, might make for happy reading but for supporters and Andoni Iraola himself, that will be another thing entirely."
It added: "For the second successive week, the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw and that they are yet to hold a lead in close to 200 minutes of Premier League football so far suggests there is much work to do."
The piece stressed: "The imminent arrival of £123m Bradley Barcola, set for a weekend medical, will help ease the summer-long search for one winger but another wideman is needed on the other flank and the idea of selling Cody Gakpo at this stage seems like lunacy too."
It concluded: "Even if another attacker arrives before Tuesday's 11pm deadline on top of the expected addition of Barcola, Liverpool need to keep Gakpo around, even if the man himself might have designs on a move to either Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur."
