Liverpool won their fourth match in a row
For the third time in the first five rounds, Liverpool was behind but won back, the previous matches were against Bournemouth and Newcastle. In those two matches, Jurgen Klopp's team won both when they had one person sent off. This time, the team still kept 11 people on the field until the end of the match, when they came back to extend their winning streak to four matches.
Just like at Newcastle, this time Liverpool had to wait until near the end of the match to subdue the host Wolves. Minute 85. Mohamed Salah passed under his armpit to Robertson who rushed down to face the goalkeeper and then scored a touch to the near corner to increase the score to 2-1. The Wolves defense did not have any players following Robertson in this situation, and before that, goalkeeper Jose Sa also kicked the ball up too quickly and let the Liverpool player steal it.
Just six minutes later, the match was arranged and this time Alisson showed Sa the difference in level between the two goalkeepers. The Brazilian goalkeeper faked a move to prevent the opponent from getting close, giving him time to flick the ball into the middle of the field right where Darwin Nunez was. The Uruguayan striker turned around and flicked the ball up before sending it to Salah's position. The Egyptian star let go so that 20-year-old midfielder Harvey Elliott's low shot grazed the legs of defender Hugo Bueno, then hit the post and into the net.
Liverpool's third goal was counted as an own goal by Bueno, so Salah lost an assist. Previously, in Liverpool's equalizer, the same 31-year-old star passed his right foot low to the second post for Cody Gakpo to tap the ball into an empty net at the beginning of the second half.
Liverpool only had difficulty in the first half, when 20-year-old midfielder Jarell Quansah replaced Virgil van Dijk, causing the away team's defense to loosen. In the seventh minute, Pedro Neto turned the ball past Joel Matip on the left side of the penalty area, then crossed for Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan to tap in to open the score. Neto also threaded Joe Gomez a few minutes later, then crossed as if to make a cross but striker Matheus Cunha missed. If the Portuguese striker had scored that goal, the away team would have been under greater pressure.
Jurgen Klopp's team showed that they have returned to becoming a championship candidate, after a short season and losing their place in the Champions League. Rookie midfielders like Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai gradually integrated, while Salah remained dangerous every time he approached the goal.
Liverpool's championship ambitions will be tested more clearly in the next three rounds, when they meet West Ham, Tottenham and Brighton respectively, opponents who are all in form.
