Nottingham Forest were narrowly beaten by Liverpool in last night’s FA Cup quarter-final. Diogo Jota’s goal secured a 1-0 victory for the Carabao Cup winners.
The Reds were outstanding throughout the contest and on another day they might have nicked the tie and secured a Wembley date.
Following the game, we looked at three winners and three losers from a Forest perspective.
Forest winners
Ethan Horvath
What an afternoon it proved to be for the American goalkeeper.
This was his most convincing performance of the season so far and his save from Roberto Firmino in the first half was brilliant.
Horvath looks like being in control of the gloves for the foreseeable after this showing.
Cafu
Whatever Steve Cooper has told the Portuguese midfielder, it’s clearly working wonders.
He produced another eye-catching cameo and he’s edging closer to a starting berth in the Forest team.
Cafu has always been a hardworking performer but not he’s added some quality into his game.
Joe Worrall
The defender flexed his Premier League credentials during the 90 minutes against Liverpool.
He was outstanding throughout and was the best player on the pitch as West Ham and Everton scouts watched on from the stands.
Forest might struggle to keep Worrall beyond the summer and the challenge now is to get the very best deal for him.
Forest losers
Brice Samba
The Congolese stopper must be really starting to regret his moment of madness against Stoke last month.
He’s not been able to get his place back from Horvath since and now faces an anxious final part of the campaign.
Samba has been the number one goalkeeper since arriving at the club in 2019 but now he’s lost his place in the team.
Philip Zinckernagel
The Danish performer has been good for Forest this season but he was the unfortunate performer who missed a gilt-edged chance against Liverpool.
He couldn’t get a proper connection on Brennan Johnson’s cross and fluffed his lines with the goal gaping.
Forest might have held on had they scored, yet moments later they found themselves trailing when Jota pounced.
Alex Mighten
The academy man gave the ball away in the build-up to Jota’s strike and this wasn’t his best performance.
Given that he’s not played much football, Mighten looked pretty rusty when he was introduced.
It’s an intriguing situation with Mighten and perhaps a loan move next season would be best for all parties.