Nuno Espirito Santo has acknowledged that a towering performance from keeper Matz Sels was pivotal in thwarting hopes of a stirring comeback win at

Liverpool trailed to an early Chris Wood goal but salvaged a point when substitute, once coached by Nuno at Wolves, found the net with his first touch. Despite a lackluster hour,

Nuno said afterwards: "Matz Sels was huge for us and kept us in the game. The final minutes were about heart and desire and trying to defend. Matz was huge for us and he is in a very good moment. But that's an aspect we have to improve. We allowed too many shots inside our box.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

"It was a very special night. The bond between the team and fans, we cannot thank them enough. We were disappointed but if you look back, Liverpool had a lot of chances.

"In the final minutes of the second half we were really organized, and we didn't allow Liverpool to really break us. In the second half, we knew Liverpool were going to react and especially when the game has spaces and you allow such talented players to run with the ball for one v ones."

Reflecting on the equaliser, Nuno added, acknowledging his past connection with Jota: "We had been really good at (defending) set-pieces. I didn't see the images but Diogo, I had him for some time (at Wolves) and he is a threat in the box.

"But I didn't expect him to score from a set-piece. There had been a slight change for Liverpool and we wanted to make a change at that moment."

The Reds' victory leaves them six points clear of Forest, with a game in hand, as the City Ground prepares to host title contenders Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City later in the season.

Reflecting on the challenge against Liverpool, Nuno added: "It was a lesson for all of us. This is how we want to compete, (right up to) the limit of our efforts. I am very, very proud of the work of our players. We did defensive actions that we should now not ever change.

"Our concentration and focus is very good. You have to give credit to our players. They showed themselves against such talented opponents. We are going to play them all now so we will see how many points we get."