Nottingham Forest leads Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield after Dan Ndoye strikes early

Anfield went quiet in the 24th minute on Friday evening. Dan Ndoye, Nottingham Forest’s Swiss international winger, found the back of the net to give his side a 1-0 lead against Liverpool in what is shaping up to be one of the more uncomfortable early-season moments for the Reds faithful.

Liverpool’s first home league match of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign was supposed to be a reset. Instead, it’s looking like a rerun of the frustrations that marked their opening-day draw with Newcastle.

Ndoye delivers on his price tag

Forest paid £34 million to prise Ndoye away from Bologna in July 2025, handing him a five-year contract in the process. Ndoye scored on his Premier League debut for Forest last season, and his comfort level in English football appears to be growing with each match.

Liverpool’s early-season stumble

Liverpool came into this fixture having already dropped points against Newcastle in their season opener. Forest, for their part, arrived at Anfield carrying their own baggage. A 1-0 home defeat to Leeds United in their previous outing meant that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side needed a response. Taking the lead at one of English football’s most iconic grounds qualifies as exactly that.

What this means for the early table

Forest’s recruitment strategy is paying visible dividends. Ndoye’s £34 million fee looked bold for a club of Forest’s stature. Moments like this, scoring at Anfield to give his team the lead, are precisely why they wrote the check.

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