Liverpool twice led Nottingham Forest at Anfield on 7 September 1982, then had to recover from 3–2 down to win. Late goals from Graeme Souness and Ian Rush completed a 4–3 victory and took Bob Paisley's side to the top of the First Division.
David Hodgson had scored his first Liverpool goal at Arsenal three days earlier. He added two more against Forest, opening the scoring in the 11th minute from Kenny Dalglish's assist. Steve Hodge equalised, but Hodgson restored Liverpool's lead in the 20th minute, supplied by Alan Kennedy.
Brian Clough's team overturned that advantage before half-time. Peter Davenport brought Forest level again, and Hodge scored his second to make it 3–2. Five goals had arrived before the break; for most of the second half, that score remained unchanged.
Souness equalised in the closing ten minutes. Rush then scored the winner in the 89th, with Dalglish again providing the assist. Forest's half-time lead had become a defeat, despite surviving until late in the match.
The crowd of 27,145 had seen Liverpool win their third league game of the season. After four matches they had ten points, one ahead of Watford and Manchester City.