Steve Cooper’s hunch that former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi could excel against his old club paid big dividends at The City Ground.
Awoniyi, who was a Liverpool player between 2015 and 2021 without making a first-team appearance because of work permit issues, was given the nod by his Nottingham Forest boss ahead of Brennan Johnson and Emmanuel Dennis and scored the only goal of the game after 55 minutes, toning down his celebration out of respect to Liverpool.
‘T worked so hard. We played him today we thought he could be a handful for Virgil van Dijk. He really proved to be that and deserved his goal,’ said Cooper.
‘If he didn’t celebrate, I’ll support whatever a player decides to do. Liverpool loads of the ball and territory, we had some good chances as well.’
Forest’s famous win brought back memories to great European battles between the clubs when Brian Clough and Bob Paisley.
‘We needed a positive results – it was big around the history and nostalgia of the game as well,’ added Cooper. ‘I know that Forest supporters would have looked when this game would be. We’ve pleased many generations of fans
‘We are still nowhere the league position or points tally we had by now but at the same time, it’s given us a reference point to build on.’
Awoniyi, signed from Union Berlin for £17million in the summer as one of 23 new Forest purchases, added: ‘I am happy but the most important thing is three points. To score against Liverpool, I will never forget.
‘I will always be grateful to them for scouting me from Nigeria. It was amazing to score against them.’
