One man’s lonely numbers show Liverpool’s real problem in Forest stalemate

Liverpool’s Premier League meeting with Nottingham Forest has highlighted a familiar issue at the City Ground, with Hugo Ekitike largely uninvolved as the game remained goalless at half time.

The French striker’s display is less about individual performance and more about what the match has looked like tactically, because the flow of possession, territory and chances has rarely reached our No.22.

Florian Wirtz’s late warm-up injury forced a reshuffle, Curtis Jones entered the side and Dominik Szoboszlai initially operated at right-back before Arne Slot adjusted the structure mid-half, yet the attacking cohesion never really followed.

Ekitike stats underline Liverpool creativity problem

According to SofaScore, the 23-year-old France forward recorded minimal attacking involvement during the first half.

“Expected goals (xG) 0.04, Total shots 1, Shots on target 0, Key passes 0, Touches 18, Accurate passes 4/5 (80%).”

Those numbers are telling rather than alarming, because they show a forward receiving the ball infrequently in dangerous areas instead of missing chances.

Ekitike actually competed physically, winning four of seven ground duels and completing two dribbles, which suggests he was working with what he received rather than failing to contribute.

The bigger picture is chance creation, as Liverpool managed only two total shots compared with Forest’s 12 and recorded just 0.06 expected goals across the first half.

Forest also had more touches in our penalty area and created the only big chance, illustrating how difficult it was for Ekitike to play as a central reference point when build-up play rarely progressed through midfield.

Liverpool’s City Ground struggles appearing again

The pattern fits the wider history of this fixture, because our trips to Nottingham have repeatedly turned into low-margin matches decided by moments rather than sustained attacking pressure.

That record explains why pre-match predictions had us only narrow favourites, despite the league table placing Liverpool sixth and Forest down in 17th.

Vitor Pereira’s first league game in charge has clearly focused on compact defending, and without runners breaking lines or consistent service from wide areas, Ekitike was left occupying centre-backs rather than threatening them in the first 45.

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