Nottingham Forest were thrashed by Liverpool today and Steve Cooper must now make a brutal call on Matt Turner. The Reds goalkeeper was at fault for Mohamed Salah’s goal that allowed Liverpool to put the seal on an easy win.
This was a drab showing from Forest. For a small period in the first half, Turner kept the score pretty respectable. However, his parry from a Darwin Nunez shot allowed Diogo Jota to score the Liverpool opener.
He was powerless to prevent Nunez making it 2-0 moments later. What happened in the second half though was frankly unforgivable and Turner must now be taken out of the Forest team.
Cooper must make call on Turner for next week’s game
It’s now six without a win for the Reds. After a pretty impressive start for Forest, Turner has seen his form take a turn for the worse and frankly, it’s not good enough.
Cooper’s team were just starting to get going again when the American endured a disasterclass in goalkeeping. After a long ball downfield from Dominic Szoboszlai, the 29-year-old came rushing miles out of his goal and missed everything allowing Salah to tap into an empty net.
Turner checked in at Forest from Arsenal in the summer. He cost the club £7 million and he did produce some good moments earlier on during the 2023/24 campaign.
Now, however, he’s in danger of losing his place in the Forest starting line-up for next week. Forest face Aston Villa at the City Ground and the Reds desperately need a victory.
Who replaces Turner in the Forest team?
The backup is currently Greece’s number one Odysseas Vlachodimos. He was a £10 million summer capture and he won’t be happy to have been playing second fiddle since his arrival.
Quite simply, the goalkeeper deserves a chance to stake his claim for a place now. Turner has looked a little erratic for weeks and his distribution has left a lot to be desired.
It might sound harsh on Turner but this was a moment of madness that will have infuriated Cooper. The Forest goalkeeper didn’t need to do what he did and Vlachodimos must now be tossed the gloves for the games against Villa next weekend.
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