FOOTBALL – Liverpool’s Victor Munoz struck a late equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest yesterday, but Andoni Iraola’s side were left still searching for their first Premier League win this season after his first home league game.
Forest had looked set to leave Anfield with all three points, in what would have been a first league victory in charge for Oliver Glasner, when Morgan Gibbs-White converted a 70th-minute penalty, awarded after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson fouled Neco Williams in the area, for a 2-1 lead.
But newcomer Munoz, in his first start for Liverpool, equalised in the 82nd minute, when he spun and blasted a shot from the edge of the box that went in off the crossbar.
Newcastle United piled the pressure on Tottenham Hotspur coach Roberto De Zerbi with a 2-0 win in last night’s late fixture, with second-half goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa leaving Spurs with nothing to show for an improved performance.
Spurs spurned several first-half chances before Elanga scored his second goal in as many league games and Wissa’s acrobatic finish 10 minutes later ended the contest to deepen the gloom around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton, while Hull City left it late to beat fellow promoted side Coventry City 1-0 to move provisionally up to second place.
Forest had opened the scoring at Anfield through Dan Ndoye in the 24th minute, the Swiss forward finishing off a rapid counterattack that began with goalkeeper Matz Sels launching a long ball upfield before Gibbs-White slipped him through to slot coolly into the bottom corner.
Liverpool had a first-half effort from Florian Wirtz chalked off after a VAR review determined Jeremie Frimpong was offside in the build-up, before finally levelling in the 60th minute when Alexander Isak scored.
Cody Gakpo twisted away from his marker on the right and whipped a low ball across the face of goal, with Isak tapping into an empty net.
Spurs are still waiting for a league goal this season despite a better showing than last weekend’s bruising defeat at Brentford.
New signing Omar Marmoush showed glimpses on his debut and Mathys Tel impressed in a first half in which Spurs ought to have scored.
Tel and Jan Paul van Hecke drew good saves from Lukas Hornicek, while Pedro Porro was denied by a superb block from Lewis Hall to keep things level at halftime.
But Elanga struck in the 62nd minute, holding off Sandro Tonali before firing off the post and in.
Wissa then put the game to bed with a tidy flick over his shoulder from close range, with Spurs going through the motions as the game petered out in an increasingly empty stadium.
Coventry and Hull had played two goalless draws in the second-tier Championship last season, but this time Hull took all three points after Liam Millar scored an 82nd-minute winner.
Hull, who beat Manchester United last week, have six points from two games and sit behind Manchester City on goal difference.