Report
Nottingham Forest climbed out of the relegation zone with a stunning 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield, as the champions lost for the sixth time in seven Premier League matches.
Murillo got Forest's opener after 33 minutes, firing into the bottom-left corner when Liverpool failed to deal with a corner.
Igor Jesus saw a potential second goal disallowed shortly afterwards, but Nicolo Savona doubled Forest's advantage from close range 39 seconds into second half.
Arne Slot introduced Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa in a bid to improve Liverpool's lacklustre attacking play, but Morgan Gibbs-White finished on the rebound to put Forest 3-0 ahead after 78 minutes.
Forest's victory lifts Sean Dyche's side up to 16th while Liverpool drop into the bottom half of the table in 11th. The Reds could find themselves 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal by the end of the weekend.
How the match unfolded
Liverpool were denied by a heroic block from Elliot Anderson in the eighth minute, with the England international standing firm in front of Alexis Mac Allister's shot after neat footwork from Cody Gakpo.
Milos Kerkez then diverted Mohamed Salah's cross over the crossbar before Forest struck against the run of play in the 33rd minute, with Murillo lashing home when Virgil van Dijk only half-cleared Anderson's set-piece.
The visitors thought they had a second moments later through Jesus, but after a VAR check, it was ruled the ball had bounced on to his arm before he drilled past Alisson.
Forest did have a two-goal cushion shortly into the second half. Neco Williams bundled past Mac Allister before cutting the ball back for Savona, who side-footed home.
Liverpool were lacklustre in attack as Dominik Szoboszlai hit a tame attempt straight at Matz Sels, and Gibbs-White got Forest's clinching goal with a first-time finish after Alisson parried Omari Hutchinson's bending attempt, stunning the home fans into silence.
Balance eludes Slot as Liverpool woes continue
When Liverpool opened their title defence with five straight wins, few could have imagined they would emerge from the November international break eighth in the table.
The Reds started brightly enough here, with goalkeeper Alisson and Alexander Isak among five players brought in to start. They twice went close in the first 16 minutes, after neat footwork from Gakpo and Salah on either flank.
But Slot will be disappointed with the way Murillo was granted the time to take a touch from Van Dijk's half clearance before firing home, while Ibrahima Konate got a reprieve when he was outmuscled by Jesus for Forest's disallowed goal.
Salah then saw an outside-of-the-foot effort pushed behind by Sels, with Mac Allister also heading into the Belgian's gloves. But Mac Allister was perhaps culpable for Savona's goal as Williams easily beat him on the left side of the area.
Slot's first substitution, made in the 55th minute, told the story of Liverpool's desperation as Ekitike replaced Konate, but they never truly threatened a fightback before switching off from a quick free-kick for Forest's third goal.
With PSV Eindhoven next up in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday and a trip to West Ham United to come four days later, Slot must get his star-studded squad to click quickly.
Dyche recapturing spirit of Nuno era
Last September, a curling effort from Callum Hudson-Odoi handed Nuno Espirito Santo's Forest side a 1-0 victory at Anfield, a result that got everyone at the City Ground believing a push for European qualification was possible.
Sean Dyche will hope Saturday's victory has a similar galvanising effect. As was generally the case under Nuno, Forest were superbly organised here, with Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic dominating their penalty area.
Liverpool got in behind Forest's full-backs on several occasions at 0-0, only for white shirts to pack the centre of the box and block everything the champions could throw at them.
And although it was two defenders that got the first two goals in Murillo and Savona, a series of driving runs from Dan Ndoye and Gibbs-White allowed Forest to relieve Liverpool's pressure, and the latter deservedly capped a talismanic showing with a goal.
Nuno's Forest team combined defensive grit with the freedom for individuals to express themselves on the break, and after only a month at the helm, Dyche seems to have restored that blend.
With Ange Postecoglou's 39-day tenure in the rearview mirror, Forest are looking up ahead of a UEFA Europa League meeting with Malmo on Thursday, with Brighton & Hove Albion their next Premier League opponents.
