Late goals seal win for Liverpool against battling Wolves

Jurgen Klopp's had to stay patient against a resilient Wolves team but were eventually rewarded by late goals from Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah

Wed, 01 Mar, 2023 - 22:14

Richard Tanner

Liverpool 2 Wolves 0

Liverpool stepped up their bid to salvage a top four place out of a disappointing season with a hard-earned win over Wolves at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's had to stay patient against a resilient Wolves team but were eventually rewarded by late goals from Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah.

It moved them back into the top six for the first time since early January - six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand - and boosted their collective morale and confidence for Sunday's clash with old rivals Manchester United.

Wolves proved awkward opponents for Liverpool in their three previous encounters this year. They slugged out a controversial 2-2 draw at Anfield in the FA Cup third round before narrowly losing the replay 1-0.

But they got ample revenge with a comprehensive 3-0 League win at Molyneux when Liverpool were a shambles defensively.

And it was the same story last night as they made Klopp's team work hard for the three points while underlining again the improvement they have made since appointing Julen Lopetegui as manager in November.

A victory for Wolves would have given them their first League double over Liverpool since 1950-51 and until Van Dijk made the breakthrough in the 73rd minute the game was very much in the balance.

Wolves made a bright start and came close to taking an early lead when Joao Moutinho's shot was tipped round by Alisson in only the second minute.

Youngsters Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic were two of the six changes made by Klopp and they had Liverpool's best chances in an evenly-balanced first half.

Bajcetic should have given Liverpool the early lead they wanted but couldn't get enough power on his shot after a sweet turn in the box while Elliott had a shot pushed round by Jose Sa after Darwin Nunez had chested the ball down to him.

Elliott squandered the best opening when Nunez's cross found him unmarked but he headed wide. He came close to make amends with a half-volley from 20 yards that forced Sa into a diving save before Nunez headed over from the corner.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had a shot blocked and Elliott forced another save out of Sa as Liverpool pressed to make the breakthrough early in the second half.

A fiesty game became increasing fractious when Fabinho was booked for what he claimed to referee Paul Tierney was an accidental "stamp" on Mario Lemima's leg as the Wolves player slid into a tackle. It didn't look good but fortunately for the Brazilian a VAR check ruled the caution was sufficient.

There was more controversy when Liverpool finally looked to have finally broken the stalemate only for VAR to intervene - this time against them.

Diogo Jota's surging run into the Wolves penalty area was ended by Max Kilman's challenge. The ball ran loose to Nunez who took a touch before finding the net but VAR advised referee Tierney to view the incident again and he ruled that Jota had fouled Kilman as the Wolves player attempted to reach the loose ball.

Liverpool's frustration didn't last long however because Van Dijk headed them in front.

His initial header from Alexander-Arnold's free-kick was kept out by Sa's fine save but Jota turned the ball back from the line and Van Dijk was on hand to head home from six yards.

A pitch-length move resulted in the second. Alisson's long clearance found Kostas Tsimikas who played a neat one-two with Cody Gakpo that sent him racing down the left flank before crossing for Salah to turn the ball in and seal the points.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 8 (Milner 90), Konate 6, Van Dijk 7, Tsimikas 7; Elliott 7, Fabinho 7, Bajcetic 7 Henderson 81, 6); Salah 7, Jota 7 (Gakpo 70, 6), Nunez 8 (Firmino 90).

Unused subs: Kelleher, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Robertson, Carvalho, Matip.

Booked: Bajetic, Fabinho.

Goals: Van Dijk, Salah.

Wolves (4-3-3): Sa 6; Semedo 7, Dawson 8, Kilman 7, Bueno 5 (Ait-Nouri 23, 6); Moutinho 6 (Gomes 65, 6), Neves 7, Lemina 6; Sarabia 5 (Traore 46, 5), Jimenez 6 (Costa 80, 5), Nunes 7 (Podence 65, 5).

Unused subs: Bentley, Collins, Neto, Jonny.

Booked: Semedo, Sarabia.

Referee: Paul Tierney 7.