Wolves 1-2 Liverpool
by Gene Sylvester

ARNE SLOT’S Liverpool arrived at Molineaux knowing that a win against bottom-of-the-table Wolves would take his side top of the table following Manchester City’s earlier draw at St James’s Park.

The task of beating a side bottom of the table and winless in their opening five games doesn’t sound too daunting, but this is the Premier League and Gary O’Neill’s troops pushed their visitors all the way, eventually going down 2-1 to a penalty-spot winner courtesy of Mohammed Salah.

Liverpool’s winner came following a Nelson Semedo foul on his fellow countryman Diogo Jota, hauling the Liverpool striker down in the area as he attempted to get on the end of a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross into the box.

“We got punished for losing our concentration in a small part of the game,” lamented the Wolves boss.

Liverpool’s talisman Salah stepped up to send Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone the wrong way and give his side all three points.

The away side had taken the lead on the stroke off half-time despite O’Neil’s team pinning them back in their own half for large periods, but a towering header from Ibrahima Konate following a Jota cross from the left sent Liverpool into half-time 1-0 up.

Following the final whistle, Slot acknowledged that his team had a storm to weather before finding their own footing in the game. 

“The first 15 mins of the game was very difficult for us. They overloaded our right side which caused us problems.”

Wolves’ introduction of Carlos Forbes, on for the energetic Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, provided the home side with the injection of energy they required to pull themselves back into the game.

The impressive Mario Lamina broke out with the ball from the edge of his own box, shrugging off the challenge of Dominic Szoboslai before finding Mattheus Cunha in bags of space who in turn threaded a ball into the path of striker Jurgen Strand Larsen.

The rangy striker seemed to be beaten to the ball by Andrew Robertson, but the Scotsman’s challenge was a flimsy one with the ball falling back into the path of the Norwegian who was also being well chaperoned by Konate.

While the French central defender seemed to have the situation under control, gesturing for Allison Becker in the Liverpool goal to come and collect the ball, the striker nipped around the big defender, passed the ball back to substitute Forbes who in turn squared into the path of Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri who had popped up in the six-yard box, tapping the ball into an empty net.

“We conceded a goal that was avoidable, let’s put it that way,” stated Slot, trying to be as diplomatic as he could be about his team’s calamitous defending for the goal.

It was nothing less than the home side deserved on the balance of play, but Semedo’s rush of blood three minutes later provided Slot’s team with an instant get-out-of-jail-free card.

After the game the Wolves boss O’Neil was disappointed but optimistic.

“With one point from six you would expect boos or negative reaction, but the fans stayed behind to clap the team because they see what the team give — they understand our situation.”

And the Liverpool boss seemed to agree with O’Neil’s assessment of Wolves’ current plight.

“Wolves do not deserve to be last — every game you see of them they deserve something, even maybe today. If Wolves play like this, they will not finish bottom.”