Liverpool climb to seventh place, Salah sixth on perennial top scorer list

Liverpool’s difficult season may yet end up qualifying for European soccer. The team of Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo also struggled in the home game against relegation candidates Nottingham Forest, but won the spectacular game 3-2.

As a result, Liverpool climbed from eighth to seventh place in the Premier League. For a moment it seemed that ‘The Reds’ would also pass Aston Villa. But the team from Birmingham took another point (1-1) because a late Brentford goal was disallowed for offside.

In the first half, Liverpool had as much as 86 percent possession of the ball, but the immense superiority did not result in goals. Diogo Jota had the biggest chance, but from five yards he headed wide.

Shortly after halftime, he made up for that miss by heading in a corner kick from close range. Soon after, it was already 1-1. On a sparse counter-attack, former Liverpool player Neco Williams shot through a defender.

But Jota quickly brought Liverpool back into the lead. On a free kick, Nottingham Forest’s defense lost sight of him, after which the Portuguese was able to control the ball on his chest and pick out the corner: 2-1.

Jota was sidelined with injuries for about four months this season. On Monday he scored his first two goals of the season in the 6-1 win over Leeds United and the 26-year-old Portuguese added two more against Nottingham. How much Liverpool benefit from a fit Jota was already evident last season, when he scored 15 goals.

But Jota’s two goals were not enough for the win, as Nottingham equalized again. After a throw-in, midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White fired a hit.

Three minutes later, Mohamed Salah restored the lead for Liverpool. The Egyptian got his foot to the ball after a free kick and shot via inside post. It was Salah’s 183rd goal for Liverpool, making him shared sixth on the perennial top scorer list. He equaled Robbie Fowler, who was a feared goal scorer at Liverpool late last century.

Almost Liverpool – where the unremarkable Gakpo was substituted early after halftime and Van Dijk completed the 90 minutes – seemed to lose the lead for the third time. Again after a throw-in, Nottingham had a good chance, but Brennan Johnson headed onto the crossbar.

At the bottom of the Premier League, Leicester City ended a run of four defeats in a row. Thanks to a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 2016 national champions left the relegation zone. Belgian Timothy Castagne became the matchwinner 15 minutes before time.

Everton picked up a point with a 0-0 draw at visiting Crystal Palace, but are now below the relegation line. Leeds United lost 2-1 to Fulham and, with six games to play, must also go full steam ahead to avoid relegation.