March 21, (THEWILL) – Liverpool advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening, thanks to Diogo Jota’s late goal.
With what was Jota’s 19th goal of the season, the Portuguese forward set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Manchester City.
The tense and essentially end-to-end initial exchanges were aided by the hair-raisingly electrifying atmosphere. In the first ten minutes, both teams threatened their opponents, with Joe Lolley and Jota likely regretting not capitalising on their enticing early opportunities.
A frantic start was quickly followed by Liverpool dominance as the visitors learnt to deal with and offset the hosts’ high-octane pressing tactics.
Despite Roberto Firmino’s greatest chance of the first half going begging, Steve Cooper’s side managed to keep the Reds from scoring their 114th goal of the season before halftime.
Firmino latched onto Jack Colback’s botched backpass and appeared to have too much time on his hands, strangely looking uneasy as he sauntered towards Ethan Horvath’s goal, only to have his chipped effort denied by the American goalkeeper.
A few jittery moments for Liverpool in the minutes after the restart may have prompted home fans to fantasise about making the semi-finals, which they nearly did with 15 minutes remaining.
As Forest rushed forward in numbers, Philip Zinckernagel was provided with a golden opportunity about seven yards from goal, only to somehow tap Brennan Johnson’s exquisite cross wide of Alisson’s post.
Just two minutes later, they were made to regret that wastefulness.
In the 77th minute, Jota peeled off his man at the back post to clinically lift a leg and prod home Kostas Tsimikas’ magnificent curling cross, ensuring the Reds will keep a date with City at Wembley.
Following the opening goal, there was no shortage of drama. With five minutes to go, a VAR review denied the home fans a spot kick, and replays showed there was some contact, possibly the tiniest of contacts, between Alisson’s palm and Ryan Yates’ boot, which some referees have given in the past.
Yates then missed a clear header in the six-yard area either side of a grateful Alisson, effectively sealing his team’s fate.
The 1-0 defeat puts an end to Championship Forest’s thrilling FA Cup run, while Liverpool will face City in their quest for a quadruple.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
