Last-minute Origi strike secures Wolves win for Reds

 

 

An incredible victory for Liverpool against a dogged Wolves that took the Reds to the top of the table after the lunchtime game saw West Ham defeat leaders Chelsea 3-2.

Although not at their fluent best and competing against one of the tightest and most stingy defences in the Premier League this season, Liverpool created enough chances to win the game comfortably.

In the first half, Diogo Jota – returning to the club from which Liverpool bought him and trying too hard – missed a header from three yards out, connecting well but putting it past the post; while Trent Alexander Arnold got caught in two minds as he came onto a volley, half wanting to lob it to the back post for Sadio Mané, half thinking I should whack this into the back of the net – which he should’ve done – and ending up skying the ball over the bar.

The second half was more of the same. Liverpool pressing but not overwhelming Wolves, Adama Traore on the break posing the only threat for the home side on the occasional break, proving a handful for Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk, who had more of a shaky game than usual.

Still, the chances did come for Liverpool and, again, it was Jota who was guilty of not taking what came his way. A mix up between Wolves’ keeper Jose Sa and centre-half Romain Saiss saw the ball break to the  Portuguese striker and he calmly ran into the box, steadied himself on the six yard line then, inexplicably, with the entire goal gaping, blasted the ball into the midriff of Connor Coady, who had retreated to the goal-line.

Chances, not as good as Jota’s, also fell to Mané, Salah and Andy Robertson; but as injury time unfolded, a final chance came to Liverpool, after a sweeping cross field pass from Virgil van Dijk fell into the path of Salah.

The Egyptian darted for the byline, pulled the ball back into the six yard area where Divock Origi – on for Jordan Henderson – was waiting. The Belgian controlled the ball, swivelled and with his left foot blasted the ball into the back of the net.

Cue hysterical celebrations from the Liverpool bench. A 0-0 draw would’ve been a hugely disappointing result for Liverpool, not just because their performance deserved a victory, but because it would’ve meant Liverpool hadn’t taken advantage of Chelsea’s slip up in the title chase.

Next up for Liverpool is the completion of their Champions League group stages campaign. So far, the Reds, in the so-called group of death, have played five and won five and, even though we expect Jurgen Klopp will put out a weakened side away against Milan on Tuesday – with the likes of Kostas Tsimikas, Neco Williams, Ibrahima Konate, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Origi sure to get starts – Liverpool will still expect to win.

Legs will be saved for the game next Saturday in the Premier League against Aston Villa, now managed by Liverpool’s greatest ever player and, probably, their next manager, Steven Gerrard.

Reds squeeze past Wolves and push up the league

An unconvincing but important 1-0 win for the Reds against Wolverhampton Wanderers put them up to sixth in the table, five points behind Chelsea and back in the race for the Champions League spots.

There was no indication from the performance, however, that Liverpool were back to their old swaggering best. Rather, it was a mistake in first-half addd time by Wolves’ keeper Rui Patricio, failing to keep out a modest strike from the left corner of the area from ex-Wolves striker Diogo Jota, not getting a strong enough hand to the shot, pushing the ball into the net and not around the post, that put Liverpool ahead and gave them the victory.

Up until the goal, the game was even. Ten-15 minutes of Liverpool pressure gave way to similar periods when Wolves were on top, though neither side troubled the opposition goalkeeper.

Sadio Mané looked the most threatening Liverpool attacker and should have done better when he was one-on-one with Patricio, taking the ball too far around the keeper and making a shooting angle impossible then wrongly choosing to carry on trying to score when a pass to Gini Wijnaldum on the edge of the area was a better option. Mané should also have done better with a diving header from a Trent Alexander Arnold cross, connecting well but steering it passed the post.

Alexander Arnold was Liverpool’s best player on a night of average performances. Ozan Kabak and Nat Philipps – Liverpool’s fifth and sixth-choice centre-backs – coped well with Wolves’ attack and those moments where the Reds were vulnerable came from some dubious goalkeeping from Alisson Becker, punching the ball where catching it seemed the simpler option, dropping a cross after two minutes and in the process of trying to retrieve the situation colliding with Nelson Semedo, giving referee Craig Pawson a penalty decision to make, which he did, very fortunately, in the Liverpool keeper’s favour.

Liverpool rarely looked like adding another goal in the second half. There was a disallowed goal on the 87th minute, after Mo Salah latched onto a through ball from Alex Oxlade Chamberlain – on as a sub for Jota – and the Egyptian chipped over the onrushing Patricio, but he was rightly flagged offside.

Unfortunately for Patricio, in coming out to meet Salah, he collided with a retreating Conor Coady, with the Wolves’ captain’s knee viciously crashing into his keeper’s head. A long delay ensued as the prone and immobile Patricio was carefully placed onto a stretcher and removed from the pitch.

Restarting the match after 15 minutes, a late chance fell to Fabio Silva to equalise when a looping deflection fell to him six yards out, but, inexplicably, he failed to get his head to the ball, which came off his shoulder and harmlessly fell into the hands of Becker.

With no FA Cup and the international break coming up, the Reds have no games for three weeks. When they return on 4 April, they play away against an improving Arsenal side, with eyes fixed on going a run, not just to challenge Chelsea for fourth spot but to get some form and momentum going for the Champions League, where Liverpool are in the quarter-finals.

Impressive Reds overcome Wolves

 

Five months after the coronation the Kop finally reverberated to the sound of “champions”. Liverpool showed the watching faithful and the rest of the Premier League why with a ruthless dissection of a Wolves team that looked lost without Raúl Jiménez as their focal point.

“If no one is injured then it was the perfect night,” said Jürgen Klopp, having dusted off his fist-pump celebration in front of the Kop for the first time since March. “When we came out for the warm-up and heard the noise it was a proper goose-bump moment. It was so nice to hear You’ll Never Walk Alone again too. It was nice that we could give them something back.”

Liverpool gave 2,000 fans a first-hand demonstration of their defensive resilience, with the goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher – who changed his shirt at half-time after starting with Kellher on the back – assured once again in the absence of Alisson, and their ability to punish any lapse in the opposition ranks. Unfortunately for Conor Coady and Nuno Espírito Santo’s team, they offered up plenty.

Read more here.

Mane finishes Wolves off with a brace

The first anybody knew about it was the tinny roar from the away end. It was the news every Liverpool supporter had been dreading and, football being the sport of schadenfreude, there was zero sympathy from the Wolves supporters who, for one day only, had chosen to serenade Manchester City, the champions of England.

That was the moment when Liverpool had to start confronting the harsh realities of trying to catch and overhaul a side of City’s durability, knowing that 97 points was not enough and that a season of sustained brilliance was not going to get its happy ending – not in the Premier League, anyway.

Read more here.

Reds meekly exit FA Cup

It would be wrong to suggest a club with Liverpool’s proud history will be completely unmoved by a third-round elimination from a competition they have won seven times. They do, however, clearly have other priorities and it was certainly difficult to remember the last time a team from Anfield has seemed as indifferent, blasé even, about the FA Cup as Jürgen Klopp’s team did during this defeat.

The best time to judge whether Klopp was right to take such a risk will come at the end of the season, when we know whether the current Premier League leaders have held their position at the top of the table. For now, however, all that really can be said is they were obliging opponents for a Wolves side that fully took advantage of Klopp’s team selection and won a rather dishevelled tie with a firecracker of a shot from Rúben Neves.

Read more here.

Brilliant Salah keeps Reds top of the league

Mohamed Salah inspired Liverpool to a victory at Wolves that took them four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

The Reds went ahead when Fabinho played a one-two with Sadio Mane and crossed for Salah, who flicked the ball into the net with the outside of his foot.

The Egyptian set up Liverpool's second with a wonderful lofted pass over the home defence, allowing Virgil van Dijk to side-foot a six-yard volley past Rui Patricio.

Read more here.