Liverpool head coach Arne Slot now views their only Premier League defeat of the season differently having seen how Nottingham Forest have defied expectations.
At the time, the 1-0 loss in September was considered a major shock as a team who finished 17th last season registered their first win at Anfield since 1969.
However, four months on and Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest are level on points with second-placed Arsenal, having won more matches than any other team except leaders Liverpool.
“For us to lose on that day was, for me, hard to take,” said Slot ahead of Tuesday’s trip to the City Ground.
“Now, looking back at it and seeing where they are in the league, it has not been such a shock result as I thought it was back then.”
Slot admits Forest’s team selection surprised him that day but is not expecting to be confounded this time around.
“I watched it back because I wanted to see what we did back then in terms of tactics and what we could do now,” he added.
“Back then it was a surprise for us that Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga were not playing but they are playing so well now it again would be a surprise if they don’t start.
“We are prepared for both but that we have to do better than that game, that is clear.”
Their respective positions in the table mean the fixture conjures up memories of the late 1970s, early 1980s when the two clubs were at their peak together, winning five European Cups in as many years.
“Someone told me that it was 78, 79 Liverpool and then two years for Forest and then Liverpool again,” Slot said.
“I am aware of that but I did not know the exact years – but I did know Forest was a big force in English football for a long period of time but that has been quite a long time ago.
“I have always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season so if Forest is up there with us, Arsenal, Chelsea, City and all the others they are definitely a team that is in competition with us.
“They deserve to be treated like this if you look at the way they play and look at their results.
“Nuno is doing an incredible job, but if you look at the amount of money they spent it is not a complete surprise that they do well this season.”
Team news from Arne Slot ahead of #NFOLIV ⤵️
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Slot himself could also be said to be doing an incredible job, having won 24 of 30 matches in all competitions since taking charge of Liverpool, with his only other defeat coming in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Tottenham last week.
But the Dutchman played down the start he has enjoyed since succeeding Jurgen Klopp in the summer.
“I said many times if you go into a job you don’t think about where we will be halfway through a season when it comes to the position in the league table,” he said.
“What you do try to focus on a lot is ‘Can we make the players really fit, can we make them work really hard and can we implement the playing style in the best possible way from the start?’.
“You never know what the other teams are going to do – I don’t think any one of us expected City to be where they are at the moment, although you can see already now they are coming back and winning their games in a way we are like ‘Ah, this is City again’.
“You don’t think about these things before the start of the season, you mostly think about ‘OK, can I let these players play in a way I would like them to play’ – and hopefully the fans would like them to play as well.”
Reds striker Darwin Nunez, last season’s match-winner at the City Ground, is suspended for Tuesday’s clash, while centre-back Joe Gomez is “quite far” from returning to fitness after a hamstring injury.
