LIVERPOOL :Liverpool’s crumbling defence of their Premier League crown continued with a 3-0 home drubbing at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday that left Arne Slot’s misfiring side 11th in the table.
Goals by Murillo, Nicolo Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White gave Forest back-to-back league wins at Anfield for the first time in 62 years and condemned Liverpool to a sixth league defeat of the season.
Chelsea won 2-0 at Burnley in the early kickoff to move into second place, three points behind leaders Arsenal who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, and Manchester City missed the chance to close the gap by slumping to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United to slip to third on 22.
Crystal Palace moved fourth with a 2-0 win at bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers who are still searching for their first win after 12 games. Brighton & Hove Albion are fifth after coming from a goal down to beat Brentford 2-1 at home.
Promoted Sunderland lost for only the third time in the league this season as Raul Jimenez scored late at Craven Cottage to earn Fulham a 1-0 victory.
Bournemouth trailed West Ham United 2-0 with both the London club’s goals coming from former Bournemouth player Callum Wilson, but the south coast club hit back to draw 2-2.
Few people could have imagined that Liverpool’s decline would be so steep and so fast but after Saturday’s dire defeat any suggestion their form is a blip is laughable.
Forest went ahead after 33 minutes when defender Murillo fired powerfully past fit-again Liverpool keeper Alisson.
Forest struck again 47 seconds after the break when former Liverpool defender Neco Williams set up Nicola Savona.
When Gibbs-White scored Forest’s third 12 minutes from time it sparked an exodus of disgruntled Liverpool fans.
To underline the malaise at Liverpool, 125 million-pound record signing Alexander Isak started but hauled off after 67 ineffective minutes.
ANOTHER BIG DISAPPOINTMENT, SAYS SLOT
“Another big disappointment,” Slot, who led Liverpool to the title in his first season in charge, said. “If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility.”
Forest’s second successive win lifted Sean Dyche’s side out of the bottom three into 16th place.
Goals by Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez earned Chelsea the points at Burnley, their third successive league win.
“Tough game for many reasons, but they did not have one chance,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said. “I am very happy since I joined this club. When you lose one game it is a crisis, when you lose two it is huge crisis.”
Burnley stayed in the relegation zone with 10 points.
Wolves welcomed back former defender Rob Edwards as manager but he was given a bleak reminder of the challenge ahead.
“I knew it would not be a quick fix,” Edwards said after second-half goals by Daniel Munoz and Yeremy Pino gave Palace a deserved win which moved them into the top four.
Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen was beaten by one Igor Thiago penalty but saved another deep into second-half stoppage time in his side’s narrow 2-1 win over Brentford.
Thiago has been on fire lately and when Brighton’s Carlos Baleba brought down Dango Ouattara he slotted home from the spot for his ninth league goal of the season.
Brighton levelled through in-form Danny Welbeck in the 71st minute and substitute Jack Hinshelwood put them in front, but Brentford were thrown a lifeline in stoppage time when they were awarded a second penalty.
Thiago attempted a similar strike to his first effort but Verbruggen kept his cool to save.
West Ham are now unbeaten in three league games and have climbed out of the relegation zone but were left to rue two dropped points as they allowed Bournemouth back in rain-lashed clash on the south coast.
Wilson scored in the 11th and 35th minutes but Marcus Tavernier halved the deficit from the penalty spot in the 69th minute before Bournemouth substitute Enes Unal secured his side a point.
