REUTERS –

Arne Slot got his first taste of defeat as Liverpool boss as his side lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday, with visiting manager Nuno Espirito Santo outfoxing the Dutchman in a fascinating encounter.

Forest got its tactics right, packing the center of the midfield and crowding out Liverpool’s wide players. Although the home side had some decent chances in the first half, it was not clinical enough in front of goal.

"The result frustrates the most, and we cannot be happy about how the game went," Slot said. "It was a stop-start game and we hardly created any chances.

"We only have to look at ourselves — we have to be better. Far too many times we lost the ball around the area, it was not good enough. We have to be better with the ball."

Forest's solid block may have left Liverpool without much space, but the Reds were their own worst enemies at times.

Substitutes Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi combined for the latter to score on the counter and claim three points for the visitors.

"Our decisions and execution weren't good enough," Slot said. "In general we defended quite well, but the two fast players came on and made it difficult. We took a lot of risk and in the end it was a very good goal."

Forest coach Espirito Santo was delighted with how his side executed the gameplan.

"The only way to achieve anything here is if you are organized and do everything that you can," he said.

"When you start the way we started with our wingers Nico Dominguez and Elliot Anderson, all the effort of them tracking Liverpool's fullbacks, it is a lot of energy."

After flirting with relegation in previous seasons, Forest finds itself in fourth place with eight points from four games. Liverpool is second with nine.

"We are working hard, and it is about building and believing in this idea that you can develop," Espirito Santo said.