How Nuno Espirito Santo built a tactical masterclass at Anfield: Liverpool’s reality check shouldn’t cause mass panic but many will copy Nottingham Forest’s blueprint, writes LEWIS STEELE

Just two weeks ago, Arne Slot stood in front of Sky Sports cameras on the touchline at Old Trafford and candidly explained step by step how his team tactically took Manchester United apart. Easy, this Premier League stuff, he might have thought.

Liverpool had made it three out of three without conceding a goal. He had tougher tests ahead of him, but he couldn’t have asked for a better start after Feyenoord’s significant leap into the world’s best league.

The next day, the Mail Sport – and many other media outlets – raved about ‘Slotball’ and how the Dutchman was taking English football by storm. Two weeks later, ‘Slotball’ was unmasked by Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest.

Just as many warned against getting too excited after just three wins, this defeat should not be a reason to panic or overreact. But the concern is that Nuno has found the blueprint to beat Slot’s team – and many other teams may copy how he did it.

Wasteful finishing, poor defending before Callum Hudson-Odoi’s goal and post-international fatigue could be cited as excuses that are short-term problems rather than long-term concerns. But while Liverpool were poor, Forest were perfect and richly deserved their three points.

Arne Slot was hit hard by reality when Liverpool lost their first game under their new manager

Slot’s team had been virtually flawless in his first three games as national coach before losing on Saturday

The Reds lost to Nottingham Forest as Slot’s system was exposed by his opponent

So how did they do it? Nuno clogged the midfield with five – yes, five – central midfielders: James Ward-Prowse, Nicolas Dominguez, Ryan Yates, Elliott Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White. Even striker Chris Wood dropped deep in a solid defensive shift.

Central defenders Murillo – it would be no surprise if he were to land a big transfer next summer – and new signing Nicola Milenkovic – were imperious, while fellow summer signing Alex Moreno pocketed Mohamed Salah and Ola Aina was equally impressive in keeping the underperforming Luis Diaz at bay.

In two sentences we have named all the outfielders by name – this was a real team effort and every man deserves a big pat on the back, plus goalie Matz Sels was solid when called upon. You would do well to find a better tactical team effort this season.

This system meant that Liverpool had no space to work in and were often forced into long shots or clumsy crosses that were cleared away with ease. The atmosphere at Anfield was incredibly flat, you could feel the anxiety and frustration building by the minute.

However, as the game approached the hour mark, Nuno took a risk and changed tack. It could easily have backfired as Forest dropped their five-man midfield and brought on wingers Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga. In hindsight, let’s just say Forest smelled blood.

Having barely made any headway in the first hour, they now had pace on the counter-attack. Elanga missed a shot after a good move, but made amends minutes later by driving his team forward and setting up Hudson-Odoi, who easily passed Conor Bradley to unleash a fine finish.

Slot admitted that this was the first time he had encountered a low block on these shores and it clearly led to a series of problems for his team. Mohamed Salah threw his arms in the air in frustration as he continued to press but could not find a way to break through the Forest defence.

Another concern is how none of Slot’s five substitutions had a positive impact. Darwin Nunez lost the ball for Forest’s goal and Cody Gakpo had zero memorable moments. New signing Federico Chiesa didn’t even make the bench – could he have made an impact with a cameo?

Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo filled the midfield before taking a risk late in the game when he smelled blood

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s strike was enough to give his team all three points in an away match against Anfield

What matters now is how Slot and his team recover – one loss must not cause mass panic

But to reiterate an earlier point: one defeat should not cause mass panic, just as three wins are no reason to get overly excited. Rome, as they say, was not built in a day – even Pep Guardiola needed a year to find his feet in English football.

Now it’s time to react quickly. AC Milan, who Liverpool play on Tuesday, are no longer the formidable force they were when they met in the 2005 and 2007 European Cup finals – but the San Siro is a cauldron of noise at the worst and is never an easy journey.

Two weeks after the slot machine hit the jackpot at Old Trafford – Sky Sports’ Peter Drury’s words, not ours before you spit out your cornflakes – the slot machine has suffered its first malfunction. Now the Dutchman must earn his keep to prevent the same mistakes from happening again.