Andoni Iraola escaped defeat on his Anfield debut as Liverpool manager thanks to Victor Munoz’s strike that salvaged a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest.
Forest were set to win at Anfield for the third consecutive season on Saturday as Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty twice put the visitors in front.
Alexander Isak briefly brought Liverpool level in the second half before Munoz’s deflected effort rescued a late point for the second time in Iraola’s two matches in charge.
“It’s quite clear the first half has been poor, we haven’t controlled the game,” said Iraola. “We improved a lot in the second half, much more intense, much quicker on the ball, but not enough to win the game.”
Liverpool will hope to have Bradley Barcola to unleash by the time they are next in action at Ipswich on Friday.
The French winger has been one of the Reds’ top targets for months and a £106 million ($144 million) deal with Paris Saint-Germain, which could rise by a further £17 million, is reportedly close to completion.
Iraola said he was hoping for a special day to mark his first match in charge at the club’s iconic home, but instead got a reminder of why he was given the chance to replace the sacked Arne Slot.
The Dutchman led Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title in the 2024/25 campaign but was dismissed after finishing fifth last season.
A record £450 million outlay on new signings 12 months ago continues to bear little return on investment as full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong were subbed off, while Isak and Florian Wirtz again struggled to make the impact expected for enormous transfer fees.
And Liverpool remain brittle at the back as a Forest side that failed to score in their opening two games under Oliver Glasner created an abundance of chances.
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