Mohamed Salah scored the winner as Liverpool won a five-goal thriller with Nottingham Forest at Anfield to boost their hopes of claiming an unlikely Champions League place.

Diogo Jota scored twice, with former Liverpool player Neco Williams as well as Morgan Gibbs-White responding for the visitors.

Salah netted his 16th Premier League goal of the season to put Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead for third third time – and another equaliser proved beyond Steve Cooper’s men, who remain in the drop zone.

Forest have now collected three points from 11 games since their last victory, which was against Leeds United in February.

They have lost four games in a row and all three since a statement released by owner Evangelos Marinakis in support of Cooper that included the line “results and performances must improve immediately”.

Liverpool have picked up successive wins since the superb comeback against Arsenal a fortnight ago and with Tottenham Hotspur still to play at Anfield at the end of the month and Newcastle United stuttering of late, Klopp’s men cannot be dismissed from the top-four race.

Jota continues return to form

The half-time music was still being played around the stadium for well after play re-started, almost as if the club perhaps decided the fans required entertainment they weren’t getting from the pitch.

In fact, the second period could barely have been more exciting, with the previously out-of-form Jota the star of the show.

The Portugal forward has struggled for form since a bad injury in the autumn, putting a dent to his previously high scoring record.

Indeed prior to last week’s win at Leeds United, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers winger had not scored a club goal in more than a year.

Now he has scored more than once in successive games for the first time in his Liverpool career.

His opener was a poacher’s effort as Jota advanced onto Fabinho’s header across goal before applying a close-range finish.

He then exploited some slack Forest defending, with the visitors allowing him time to bring down a looping free-kick and apply a neat finish.

The stuffy draws at Chelsea and at home to Arsenal that were the springboard to wins against Leeds and Forest have given Klopp and his side the chance to end a campaign containing so much negativity on a high.

Forest’s battle goes on

Given the chaotic nature of their season, it could be argued Forest have done well just to reach this point with their survival hopes still alive.

However, with two of their next three games at home, including a meeting with bottom side Southampton on 8 May, they are reaching the point of no return – and Marinakis might need to be brave to stick with Cooper, even though he retains the support from Forest’s fans.

The acute disappointment on this occasion will come from the goals they conceded immediately after scoring.

Having found the net just five times in 15 away games this season, getting two in one game – at one of the top sides – was scarcely believable.

Yet Forest conceded again within four and three minutes respectively.

Cooper will take solace from a decent performance though, after Williams exploited space to punish his old club via a deflection and Gibbs-White converted an excellent first-time effort – via a double deflection – after Liverpool failed to clear a corner.

But Forest need points more than performances now and the sight of Renan Lodi turning away in disbelief as Salah celebrated Liverpool’s third illustrated the desperate basic mistakes they simply must eradicate.

Touch of class from Forest fans

Tragedy chanting has become one of the scourges of the modern game.

Given they were Liverpool’s opponents on the day of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, Forest are acutely aware of the human suffering created by such events.

The spontaneous applause that broke out as Forest fans unfurled a banner that both paid respect to the 97 victims of Hillsborough and called for an end to tragedy chanting, underlined the desire from the vast majority for it to stop.

Player of the match

Diogo JotaDiogo Jota

with an average of 7.51

Liverpool

1. Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota

   Average rating

   7.51

2. Squad number23Player nameDíaz

   Average rating

   7.32

3. Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah

   Average rating

   7.21

4. Squad number27Player nameNúñez

   Average rating

   6.85

5. Squad number7Player nameMilner

   Average rating

   6.85

6. Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold

   Average rating

   6.77

7. Squad number18Player nameGakpo

   Average rating

   6.73

8. Squad number6Player nameThiago Alcántara

   Average rating

   6.58

9. Squad number1Player nameAlisson

   Average rating

   6.55

10. Squad number5Player nameKonaté

    Average rating

    6.44

11. Squad number4Player namevan Dijk

    Average rating

    6.41

12. Squad number3Player nameFabinho

    Average rating

    6.38

13. Squad number14Player nameHenderson

    Average rating

    6.37

14. Squad number17Player nameJones

    Average rating

    6.22

15. Squad number26Player nameRobertson

    Average rating

    6.08

Nottingham Forest

1. Squad number7Player nameN Williams

   Average rating

   6.59

2. Squad number12Player nameNavas

   Average rating

   6.13

3. Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White

   Average rating

   6.06

4. Squad number9Player nameAwoniyi

   Average rating

   5.91

5. Squad number20Player nameJohnson

   Average rating

   5.90

6. Squad number26Player nameMcKenna

   Average rating

   5.88

7. Squad number28Player nameDanilo

   Average rating

   5.72

8. Squad number32Player nameRenan Lodi

   Average rating

   5.71

9. Squad number38Player nameFelipe

   Average rating

   5.71

10. Squad number19Player nameNiakhaté

    Average rating

    5.71

11. Squad number4Player nameWorrall

    Average rating

    5.67

12. Squad number5Player nameMangala

    Average rating

    5.62

13. Squad number23Player nameFreuler

    Average rating

    5.57

14. Squad number16Player nameSurridge

    Average rating

    5.23

15. Squad number25Player nameDennis

    Average rating

    5.11

16. Squad number34Player nameA Ayew

    Average rating

    4.85

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