Mohamed Salah scored the winner as Liverpool won a five-goal thriller against Nottingham Forest at Anfield to boost their hopes of claiming an unlikely Champions League place.
After a drab opening half, the second half was an end-to-end classic as relegation-threatened Forest twice levelled.
Diogo Jota scored twice, with former Liverpool player Neco Williams as well as Morgan Gibbs-White responding for the visitors.
Salah netted his 16th Premier League goal of the season to put Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead for the third time – and another equaliser proved beyond Steve Cooper’s men, who remain in the relegation zone.
Forest have now collected three points from 11 games since their last victory, which was against Leeds United in February.
They have lost four games in a row and all three since a statement released by owner Evangelos Marinakis in support of Cooper that included the line “results and performances must improve immediately”.
Liverpool have picked up successive wins since the superb comeback against Arsenal a fortnight ago and with Tottenham Hotspur still to play at Anfield at the end of the month and Newcastle United stuttering of late, Klopp’s men cannot be dismissed from the top-four race.
Jota continues return to form
The half-time music was still being played around the stadium well after play re-started, almost as if the club perhaps decided the fans required entertainment they weren’t getting from the pitch.
In fact, the second period could barely have been more exciting, with the previously out-of-form Jota the star of the show.
The Portugal forward has struggled for form since a bad injury in the autumn, putting a dent to his previously high scoring record.
Indeed prior to last week’s win at Leeds United, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers winger had not scored a club goal in more than a year.
Now he has scored more than once in successive games for the first time in his Liverpool career.
His opener was a poacher’s effort as Jota advanced onto Fabinho’s header across goal before applying a close-range finish.
He then exploited some slack Forest defending, with the visitors allowing him time to bring down a looping free-kick and apply a neat finish.
The stuffy draws at Chelsea and at home to Arsenal that were the springboard to wins against Leeds and Forest have given Klopp and his side the chance to end a campaign containing so much negativity on a high.
