A chip from the old block! Steven Gerrard watches his son Lio score a penalty for Kopp in a special moment for the Liverpool legend as the Reds win 3-2 against Nottingham Forest

Steven Gerrard certainly had many special moments during his playing career at Liverpool, but today the club legend was seen at Anfield watching his son Lio score a penalty for Kopp’s side.

As a father to him, the five-year-old, who was a mascot during Liverpool’s 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest, also appears to have a knack for scoring goals at the historic stadium.

Lio, who will celebrate his sixth birthday next week, put the ball on the penalty spot, took a few steps back and stepped forward to send the ball into the net, while the fans behind the goal cheered him on.

His father stopped a few paces behind him and approached the youngster, and in what was surely a special moment for them both, waved to the fans in the stadium as they walked across the Anfield grass.

But it was a dream day for the ex-Liverpool captain, who scored numerous goals for Kopp during his career with the Reds, also providing the two with a thrilling match of football as his former club struggled for the three points fought against Forest. Steven Gerrard was seen with his son, Lio, at Anfield as Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest

Lio was cheered by the Liverpool fans when he scored a goal for Kopp

The youngster scored from the penalty spot as his father looked on in what was a special moment

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Liverpool defense got lucky escape against Nottingham Forest – 5 talking points

LIVERPOOL 3-2 NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Two goals from Diogo Jota and one from Mohamed Salah handed a well-deserved victory to Jurgen Klopp’s side who were struggling against 

direct approach

Liverpool’s efficiency from set pieces saved their fleeing defense and secured a narrow win over relegated Premier League Nottingham Forest.

Diogo Jota scored twice and Mohamed Salah once as Jurgen Klopp’s side edged their second-half opponents at Anfield. Liverpool enjoyed a quiet first half before the game exploded after the break.

Jota took the lead before a deflected shot from Neco Williams made it 1-1 against his former club. Jota’s superb finish put the Reds back in front, but it wasn’t long before Morgan Gibbs-White fired into the corner through two deflections when Liverpool failed to manage a long throw-in. Salah found the side foot from a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick as Liverpool regained the lead for the third time – and this time it stuck. Taiwo Awoniyi kicked over the bar and Brennan Johnson hit the bar but Forest couldn’t find a third equaliser.

Here are the talking points from a fun game at Anfield.

door sweeper

It’s Alisson’s Brazil team-mate Ederson who is best known for his anticipation and ability to get behind his defences, but the Liverpool goalkeeper looks set to follow in his footsteps.

As Alexander-Arnold drifts in midfield while Liverpool have possession, Ibrahima Konate is tasked with extending further into the right channel. A knock-on effect is that Alisson is rising through the ranks to help Virgil van Dijk deal with back balls.

It’s Alisson’s Brazil team-mate Ederson who is best known for his anticipation and ability to get behind his defences, but the Liverpool goalkeeper looks set to follow in his footsteps.

As Alexander-Arnold drifts in midfield while Liverpool have possession, Ibrahima Konate is tasked with extending further into the right channel. A knock-on effect is that Alisson is rising through the ranks to help Virgil van Dijk deal with back balls.

Alisson’s focus on breaking out of his box to end the threat was clear as he headed a free-kick from Forest to the edge of his box. The flag was still offside, but it was an interesting case study in the goalkeeper’s new intentions.

Throw-ins cause chaos

Forest’s opening goal is repeatedly retconned by Liverpool’s analysis team. And they will rightly be angry because it was completely avoidable.

A throw-in near the halfway line shouldn’t result in a goal and the ease with which it happened is a good example of the current position of the Reds’ defence. The ball was easily held after the throw-in, placed into an oncoming midfielder and distributed to Williams, who had miles of space on the other side of the pitch. The way his shot rebounded off Robertson and beat Alisson was unfortunate, but everything that preceded it was symptomatic of Liverpool’s problems in defence. And things got even worse, when Gibbs-White’s goal came from a simple touch from a long ball and found the target with two deflections, on Konate and Alexander-Arnold.

Awoniyi came close with a brilliant impromptu bicycle kick, again from a throw-in.

Hot Shot Jota

Frustrated with injuries for most of this season, Jota is now looking back on his best performance in front of goal. The Portuguese striker scored twice in Leeds’ 6-1 defeat last time out and was equally effective against Forest. His first goal showed his predatory instincts: he moved through the penalty area, anticipating where the ball was going to land and was rewarded with a header from Fabinho on his way.

The second was even nicer. Jota crushed his opponent from a deep free kick, controlled the ball deftly with his chest and knees and volleyed into the bottom corner with his left foot. After 19 games without a goal this season, he now has four out of two.

Bring the Parts to the Rescue

Liverpool were far from their best, but they looked constantly threatened by Alexander-Arnold’s set pieces. Keylor Nevas was forced into a good Dave by Van Dijk and Jota missed an easy chance at the back post in the first half before her weight was felt in the second half.

Jota stole a step to open the scoring, losing his man for the second before Alexander-Arnold won his support from Salah’s side finish.

struggling forest

Steve Cooper’s side are in the relegation zone and face a nervous end to the season. They are now 11 Premier League games without a win – dating back to a 1-0 win over Leeds on February 5 – and are drifting in the wrong direction.

They caused a lot of problems for Liverpool in this match, with their long throw-ins being particularly effective. But that’s simply not enough at the moment, with their status as a leader at stake. They are now 19th, one point behind Leicester and Everton.

Leicester’s victory over Wolves and Everton’s draw at Crystal Palace made matters worse and made subsequent games against Brighton, Brentford and Southampton in particular absolutely huge.