Liverpool net late in Forest draw to avoid Anfield debut defeat for Iraola

Andoni Iraola escaped defeat on his Anfield debut as Liverpool manager thanks to Victor Munoz’s strike to salvage a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest.

Forest were set to win at Anfield for the third consecutive season as Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty twice put the visitors in front on Saturday.

Alexander Isak briefly brought Iraola’s men level in the second half before Munoz’s deflected effort rescued a late point for the second time in Iraola’s two matches in charge.

Liverpool will hope to have Bradley Barcola to unleash by the time they are next in action at Ipswich on Friday.

The French winger has been one of the Reds’ top targets for months, and a 106 million pound ($144m) deal with Paris Saint-Germain that could rise by a further 17 million pounds ($23m) is reportedly close to completion.

Iraola said he was hoping for a special day to mark his first match in charge at the club’s iconic home, but instead got a reminder of why he was given the chance to replace the sacked Arne Slot.

The Dutchman led Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title in the 2024/25 campaign, but was dismissed after finishing fifth last season.

A record 450 million-pound ($609m) outlay on new signings 12 months ago continues to bear little return on investment as full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong were subbed off, while Isak and Florian Wirtz again struggled to make the impact expected for enormous transfer fees.