Liverpool drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest at Anfield on August 29, 2026, in Andoni Iraola’s first home Premier League game as manager [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Nottingham Forest took the lead twice during the match. Dan Ndoye opened the scoring in the 24th minute, and Morgan Gibbs-White added a penalty in the 70th minute after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson fouled Neco Williams in the penalty area [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
The penalty came immediately after a delayed Liverpool substitution. Iraola said the replacement was held up by a malfunctioning electronic fourth official board and added, "The penalty wouldn't have happened if I had made the subs" [7, 6].
Liverpool fought back with goals from Alexander Isak in the 60th minute, who tapped in a low cross from Cody Gakpo, and Victor Munoz in the 82nd minute, who scored the late equalizer in his first start and first goal for the club [1, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Iraola expressed frustration with Liverpool’s slow start, describing the first half as passive and lacking intensity but praised the improved second-half effort. "I think we improved a lot in the second half. We were much more intense, much quicker on the ball, with more sense of urgency," Iraola said [2, 8, 6].
Nottingham Forest’s goals came from rapid counterattacks that exposed defensive weaknesses for Liverpool, who spent a Premier League record £446 million on players last season but finished fifth after winning the title in 2025 [1, 2, 5, 8].
Despite scoring, Isak has struggled to integrate fully. Pundit Joe Hart said, "Liverpool haven’t worked out how to play with Alexander Isak yet" and noted previous trust and flow at Newcastle was missing [9].
Liverpool now has two draws from their first two Premier League matches under Iraola and still awaits their first win of the 2026-27 season [1, 2, 3, 4]. Iraola aims to restore Liverpool’s high-intensity attacking style, reminiscent of the Klopp era, moving away from the measured approach of his predecessor Arne Slot [2, 8].
Liverpool will next seek their first league victory as Iraola continues to mold the team’s style and cohesion.
