Mohamed Salah on target as Liverpool ease past Nottingham Forest

Everton and Aston Villa also register wins in the Premier League

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, right, celebrates scoring with Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott. PA

Goals from Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool a comfortable 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Sunday.

Forest kept it tight for the opening half-hour but they were soon behind thanks to a classic counter-attack from the hosts.

Forest centre-back Murillo made an ill-judged foray forward and was relieved of the ball, and in seconds Mohamed Salah found Nunez, whose shot was parried into the path of Jota for an easy finish.

Jota celebrated by holding up the shirt of team mate Luis Diaz, who missed the game following the kidnapping of his parents in his native Colombia.

"Luis was with us in the hotel, then he went home. It's a very hard situation and I don't know how anyone would react if it happened to you," Jota told the BBC.

"He was going to play. I played instead of him and I showed him his shirt to show we're with him and we hope everything works out."

Liverpool's second was a brilliant team goal as they sliced the Forest rearguard, and this time it was Dominik Szoboszlai who got free down the right to pull the ball across the goal for Nunez to score.

Liverpool upped the ante early in the second half with Salah curling a shot just wide and Harvey Elliott having a shot blocked shortly after coming off the bench.

A breakdown in communications between substitute Harry Toffolo and keeper Matt Turner let Salah in, and he duly steered the ball home to complete the scoring in the 77th minute.

Forest never got out of their defensive mindset and it took them until the 85th minute to register their best effort of the game, a shot by winger Anthony Elanga that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar.

Meanwhile, Dominic Calvert-Lewin's second-half strike secured a 1-0 win for Everton at West Ham.

The striker scored six minutes after halftime at the London Stadium as Everton won for only the third time in the league this season.

Calvert-Lewin, who has had to contend with a slew of injuries, scored his 50th league goal for the club and he joined Romelu Lukaku, Duncan Ferguson and Tim Cahill in reaching half-century.

Receiving the ball in the box, he turned smartly and steered a shot low into the corner.

Abdoulaye Doucoure could have doubled the visitors' lead, but his shot was saved by Alphonse Areola.

The win was Everton's third in six games in all competitions as Sean Dyche's team looks to recover from a troubled start to the season that saw them fail to win any of their opening five league fixtures.

Also, Aston Villa chalked up their 12th successive Premier League win at home with a comfortable 3-1 victory over struggling Luton Town as they maintained their top-four challenge.

John McGinn's 17th-minute strike separated the sides at halftime but Villa made their domination count after the break.

Moussa Diaby rifled in a shot four minutes into the second half and an own goal by Luton's Tom Lockyer just past the hour mark left the visitors reeling.

Luton continued to play with great energy and they earned a consolation thanks to another bizarre own goal credited to Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.

In another match, Joao Palhinha scored a stunning equaliser as Fulham held Brighton to a 1-1 draw.

The Seagulls were the better team in the early stages at the Amex Stadium and were rewarded through Evan Ferguson’s neat finish before Palhinha’s superb strike secured a point for the Londoners.