The Premier League never ceases to surprise you. Liverpool has lost its first game of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign against Nottingham Forest and left the soccer world in a shock. One of the most successful English teams succumbed 0-1 to a resilient Forest defense, giving them a slight blow in pursuit of another league title. But more importantly, the frustration seems to have crept in after the result, as the club’s defender Trent Alexander-Arnold was seen arguing with the referee Michael Oliver after the game.

The match was mostly dominated by Liverpool, but Liverpool’s lack of converting chances led to the team’s downfall. However, with the video of the argument doing the rounds on X (formerly Twitter), fans responded with mixed reactions, with a few expressing their dissent with the English international.

Alexander-Arnold appeared to be talking aggressively, while Oliver seemed to be denying his claims. Although it remains unclear what the conversation was, Liverpool’s loss was the main reason for the anger. With so much dominance with the ball, their lack of creativity astonished many. While the offense of the team had the intent to score with 14 attempts, a lack of being clinical saw only 5 of them being on target. In contrast, the visitors have 3 of their 5 shots on the goal with one magnificent strike by Calum-Hudson Odi going in.

Before the confrontation, the referee denied Liverpool’s shout for a penalty in the stoppage time. Subsequently, the Englishman showed some dissent toward the decision, earning him a yellow. Over 90 minutes, the hosts had many moments of discomfort. Their players especially, Alexis Mac Allister were on the receiving end while the Forest captain Ryan was getting away with a few fouls. Yet the fans chose to be neutral, asking for improvement in the coming matches.

Fans are not hesitant to express their fury after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s claims with Michael Oliver

Hence one disappointed tweet read, “No idea what he’s complaining about, Liverpool is simply not good enough today. Nothing on the ref,” disagreeing with Alexander-Arnold Liverpool had possession of 69% the whole game but were still not able to manage a single goal.

Moreover, even Trent’s defense did not impress many. A few fans stated that Trent had no reason to blame the referee since he was at fault. The #66’s lack of winning the ball led to a pass that helped the opponent’s goal leading to additional criticism.

Trent really annoyed me today with his performance and moaning at the ref about everything. Overall the whole team needs to get their act together very quickly and certainly can’t play like that again.

The 26-year-old, who also played a bit in the midfield, was unable to create many chances. In addition, he conceded a goal that angered Reds supporters, who have been writing scathing reviews from “Maybe Trent needs to stop playing the one-in-a-million pass every time” to “Honestly what’s he crying about. He was piss poor his passing was atrocious,” echoing their fellow fan base who called out his passing.

Nevertheless, a few stood with their team and defender, while many took a dig for the loss. A few are claiming Liverpool to be unlucky, citing Oliver to give easy free kicks to Nottingham and charging Liverpool for everything. Despite acknowledging the opponent’s prowess, an opinion read, “We played horrible but this man should not be officiating at a professional level. It’s laughable,” taking a dig at Oliver.

Liverpool received harsh treatment in a few instances. Alexis Mac Allister’s shoulder-to-shoulder with Forest’s player-led Oliver to penalize the Reds. But more importantly, denying them a penalty in the latter stages of the game added to the fury. The English referee was also blamed for taking Nottingham Forest’s side.

In summary, due to today’s result, the highly estimated Arne Slot’s team will have a tough time leveling up with Manchester City, which has won all its games. In addition, Arsenal have a game in hand, and a win for the Gunners will place them above the Merseyside club. Therefore, Trent Alexander Arnold will hope this to be an odd day and come back with what he does regularly. And finally, the formidable squad of the 6-time European champions will aim to prove whether they can reclaim their title this season.