PL: Allister’s late strike seals Liverpool 1-0 victory over Forest

Liverpool FC kept their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League alive after a dramatic 1-0 victory over struggling Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

The Reds were far from their best and delivered a below-par performance for most of the game. However, they were rescued in the dying moments by Alexis Mac Allister, who found the back of the net in the 97th minute to seal all three points.

Forest, now under their fourth manager of the season, had Vitor Pereira in charge for his first league match. His team showed strong determination and looked set to earn a valuable point before the late drama unfolded.

Earlier in the closing stages, Mac Allister had a goal disallowed after he blocked a clearance from Ola Aina and the ball ended up in the net.

Despite that setback, the Argentine midfielder eventually delivered when it mattered most, breaking Forest hearts with a stoppage-time winner.

The ball was deemed to have struck the Argentine midfielder on the arm.

However, to Pereira’s fury, Forest did not heed the warning as they slipped to within two points of the Premier League relegation zone.

Mac Allister swept home a rebound after Virgil van Dijk’s header was saved.

After another lengthy VAR review, this time the call went in Liverpool’s favour despite Hugo Ekitike standing in an offside position.

Liverpool remain in sixth but climb level on points with Chelsea and Manchester United and within six points of Aston Villa.

Thanks to the strong performance of English sides in European competition this season, a place in the top five will almost certainly secure Champions League qualification.

Liverpool were dealt a blow before kick-off when Florian Wirtz picked up an injury in the warm-up.

The German’s ingenuity was badly missed in a performance badly lacking in attacking impetus until a late rally saved their blushes.

The pressure is on Arsenal in Sunday’s later kick-off (16:30 GMT) at north London rivals Tottenham.

Spurs are under new management as interim boss Igor Tudor takes charge for the first time, tasked with guiding them away from the relegation zone.

Arsenal could have been out of sight in the title race, but a run of just two wins in seven league games has allowed Manchester City to close to within two points at the top.

Fulham climbed above Sunderland into the top half of the table after becoming just the second visiting side to win at the Stadium of Light this season.

Raul Jimenez’s double secured a 3-1 victory for Marco Silva’s men.

The Mexican striker headed in Alex Iwobi’s corner before maintaining his perfect penalty record in the Premier League from 13 spot-kicks.

Enzo Le Fee’s penalty pulled a goal back for the Black Cats before Iwobi rounded off the scoring.

Crystal Palace eased the rising discontent at Selhurst Park with just a second win in 16 games.

Evann Guessand’s first Palace goal in the 90th minute beat 10-man Wolves 1-0.

Tolu Arokodare’s first-half penalty was saved by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Ladislav Krejci was then sent off for kicking the ball away on the hour mark as bottom-of-the-table Wolves missed the chance to move above Derby’s unwanted record low of 11 points in a Premier League season.

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