Liverpool slump continues, Man City lose, Chelsea move second

Liverpool’s troubled defence of their Premier League title took another hit on Saturday as Arne Slot’s side suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, leaving the Reds languishing in 11th place and sparking anger among home supporters.

The atmosphere at Anfield turned sour as Nottingham Forest recorded a historic victory, beating Liverpool for the second successive time on Merseyside — their first back-to-back league wins at the ground in 62 years.

Goals from Murillo, Nicolo Savona, and Morgan Gibbs-White condemned Liverpool to their sixth league defeat of the season, deepening the gloom over manager Arne Slot’s difficult first campaign in charge.

“How bad that is difficult to measure but it was very bad,” Slot admitted. “Playing at home, losing 3-0 no matter which team you face is a very, very bad result.”

Forest, managed by Sean Dyche, climbed out of the relegation zone into 16th place with the win, while Liverpool’s form continued to spiral after a string of inconsistent performances.

Forest dominate at Anfield

Murillo opened the scoring after 33 minutes with a thunderous strike past returning Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker. Just 47 seconds after the restart, former Liverpool defender Neco Williams set up Savona for the visitors’ second.

When Gibbs-White added a third, a wave of frustrated fans began leaving the stands — a stark reflection of how far Liverpool’s season has fallen from their title-winning heights.

Elsewhere in the Premier League

In Saturday’s early kick-off, Chelsea won 2-0 at Burnley, with goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernández securing their third consecutive league victory. The result lifted Enzo Maresca’s side into second place, three points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

“Tough game for many reasons, but they did not have one chance,” Maresca said. “I am very happy since I joined this club. When you lose one game it’s a crisis; when you lose two it’s a huge crisis.”

Manchester City missed the chance to close the gap on Arsenal after slumping to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United. Two quickfire goals from Harvey Barnes turned the match on its head after Rúben Dias had equalised for City.

“We wanted to make a step like we have done in the last two months, but this is not an easy place to come after the international break,” City boss Pep Guardiola said.

Top-four shake-up

Crystal Palace moved into fourth place after a 2-0 win away at bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who remain without a win after 12 games. Second-half goals from Daniel Muñoz and Yeremy Pino sealed victory for Palace.

“I knew it would not be a quick fix,” said Wolves’ returning manager Rob Edwards, who was greeted warmly but left frustrated.

Brighton & Hove Albion climbed to fifth with a 2-1 comeback victory over Brentford. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen saved a late penalty to preserve the points after Igor Thiago had missed an earlier spot-kick but converted another.

At Craven Cottage, Raúl Jiménez’s late strike earned Fulham a 1-0 win over Sunderland, handing the visitors just their third defeat of the season.

In a rain-soaked clash on the south coast, Bournemouth fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with West Ham United. Former Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson scored both goals for the Hammers before Marcus Tavernier pulled one back from the spot, and substitute Enes Ünal rescued a point for the hosts.

Copied