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Neco Williams scored an equalizer for Nottingham Forest against Liverpool in their Premier League clash on Saturday (April 22).
A turnover in possession following a throw-in meant Morgan Gibbs-White had possession of the ball in a dangerous space. He played the ball out to Williams, who bombed forward to help in attack.
The former Liverpool right-back took a shot on goal which took a deflection off Andrew Robertson, wrong-footing Alisson Becker, who had already committed himself. The Brazilian goalkeeper could have gotten a stronger palm to the ball but his efforts were not enough to stop Williams' deflected shot.
Williams did not celebrate his goal as a mark of respect to his former club's fans. The 22-year-old came through the Reds' youth academy and spent 13 years on their books before leaving permanently for Nottingham Forest last summer.
The goal made it 1-1 on the day and came just four minutes after Diogo Jota's 47th-minute strike. The Portuguese forward doubled his tally in the 55th minute after a neatly-taken volley inside the box resulting from a free-kick from Robertson.
Gibbs-White scored his team's equalizer in the 67th minute before Mohamed Salah's goal three minutes later handed Liverpool the lead once again.
Neco Williams on why he left Liverpool for Nottingham Forest
Neco Williams left Liverpool permanently last summer and joined Nottingham Forest on a four-year deal for a fee of £16 million.
The Welshman made just 33 appearances across competitions for the Reds' senior team throughout his career. By comparison, he has already played in 35 games for his new club this season.
This is precisely why the Wales international wanted to join the Tricky Trees. Explaining his decision to make the switch to Forest, Williams said in an interview in August 2022, via the Times:
"First and foremost, I wanted a team where I was going to play regular football in the Premier League. I’ve known the manager for a long time and know how good a coach he is. And he lives very close to my family, about ten minutes away — my parents bump into him now and then.
He added:
"We had a meeting — a secret one — and he went through his plans, the future, Forest’s history, how big the club is. I was just excited about it and wanted to get going straight away."
Williams has become a major part of Steve Cooper's starting XI and is his first-choice right-back over Serge Aurier and Giulian Biancone.
