A dominant second half display from Liverpool helped them fight back from 1-0 down to walk away 3-1 winners against a spirited Wolves side and continue their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Wolves burst out of the traps and flew into a shock lead when the excellent Pedro Neto rolled the ball across the box for Hwang Hee-Chan to tap home the opener.
Neto’s assist 😮💨
Hee-chan’s finish 💥Wolves take an early lead against Liverpool 🐺 pic.twitter.com/E5RtxnoHwX
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 16, 2023
The hosts, who dominated much of the opening 45 minutes, spurned a glorious chance to double their lead when Neto found Matheus Cunha in the centre of the six yard box, only for the Brazilian to mistime his effort and waste the opportunity.
Liverpool showed signs of life late in the first half, forcing Jose Sa into his first action of the game, but headed into the break clearly second best to the home side.
A better start to the second half saw them draw level 10 minutes in though, with Mo Salah finding Cody Gakpo inside the six-yard box, leaving the Dutchman unable to miss.
Salah puts it on a plate for Gakpo! 🍽
Liverpool are back in the game at Molineux 🔴 pic.twitter.com/GRyg7spn9o
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 16, 2023
It was the beginning of a sustained period of pressure from Jurgen Klopp’s side, which spanned much of the second half. Limiting Wolves and their dangerman Neto, the Reds controlled the ball and were finally handed their reward when Andy Robertson exchanged a quick one-two with Mo Salah before slotting past Jose Sa.
ROBERTSON WITH A COOL FINISH! 🥶
Liverpool are now leading against Wolves 👊 pic.twitter.com/ISmaUfhygE
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 16, 2023
HARVEY ELLIOTT MAKES IT THREE! 💫
Liverpool will go 🔝 of the Premier League pic.twitter.com/xaedCjOSnO
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 16, 2023
It was another case of ruing missed chances for Wolves, who have now thrown games against Manchester United and Jurgen Klopp’s side and sit on just three points. The Reds, meanwhile, have moved to the top of the Premier League (albeit perhaps briefly) and have continued an impressive unbeaten 16 game run.
📰 Table Of Contents
Wolves
- GK: Josa Sa (7) – Had very little to do in the first half but made some good saves in the second to keep his side level.
- RB: Nelson Semedo (6) – Was excellent in the first half but struggled in the second as Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz doubled up on him.
- CB: Craig Dawson (7) – Continues to age like fine wine and made one excellent block late on from Luis Diaz. Will argue he was fouled for Liverpool’s third.
- CB: Max Kilman (7) – Put in a strong performance in the heart of defence for Wolves but could only watch as his side missed chance after chance.
- LB: Rayan Ait-Nouri (6) – Struggled more in the second half as Liverpool pushed on and was taken off with an injury just after the hour mark.
- CM: Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (8) – Wolves’ summer signing already looks like a player they’ll struggle to keep hold of and was absolutely everywhere for the home side in an excellent midfield performance.
- CM: Mario Lemina (6) – Did a lot of dirty work in midfield and helped keep Szoboszlai largely anonymous for much of the encounter.
- CM: Joao Gomes (7) – Broke everything up in the first half but the tactical shift from Liverpool left him somewhat bypassed in the second half.
- RW: Hwang Hee Chan (6) – Gave his side a shock lead but looked tired towards the end of the first half and was withdrawn on the hour mark as his side found themselves under more pressure.
- ST: Matheus Cunha (5) – Did excellently until the final part of the game, where he missed two glorious chances that will have left Wolves wondering what if.
- LW: Pedro Neto (7) – The best player on the pitch for half the game, Neto put the ball on a plate for the opening goal and gave Gomez a terrible first half. Liverpool’s changes left him largely anonymous in the second though.
Substitutes
- Fabio Silva (6) – Didn’t have much of an impact when he came on.
- Matt Doherty (5) – Came on and didn’t really impact the game.
- Hugo Bueno (5) – Came on for the injured Ait-Nouri and was unlucky to see an effort deflect off him for Liverpool’s third.
- Boubacar Traore (5) – A clear step down from those he replaced, he couldn’t really get into the game.
- Tommy Doyle (5) – A disappointing debut but showed flashes of his talent when he came on.
Liverpool
- GK: Alisson (5) – Didn’t have much to do as Wolves struggled to find the target.
- RB: Joe Gomez (3) – Had a torrid afternoon against Pedro Neto, who regularly left him for dead in the first half.
- CB: Joel Matip (5) – Doesn’t inspire the same confidence as first-choice options for Liverpool but did okay. Much improved in the second half when his side dominated more of the ball.
- CB: Jarell Quansah (6) – Enjoyed a strong debut for the Reds until he went off with a late injury.
- LB: Andy Robertson (6) – Probably Liverpool’s best player in the first half, though he did lose his man for the opener. Made up for it late on by scoring the winner.
- CM: Alexis Mac Allister (4) – Largely ineffective in the first half and picked up a needless yellow card before being taken off at the interval.
- CM: Dominik Szoboszlai (7) – Had his worst half in a Liverpool shirt so far and couldn’t seem to find his usual passing range, but dictated the game in the second and was excellent in a slightly deeper role.
- CM: Curtis Jones (5) – Largely anonymous but covered a lot of ground and worked hard.
- RW: Mohamed Salah (6) – Had poor game by his own high standards and was hardly involved, but made those involvements count by walking away with three assists in a show of his continued quality.
- ST: Cody Gakpo (5) – Missed two good chances to level the scoring and was otherwise anonymous. Scored the equaliser with his last touch as a small redemption for his performance.
- LW: Diogo Jota (5) – Had a quiet afternoon and was taken off after an hour.
Substitutes:
- Luis Diaz (6) – Helped with Liverpool’s improvements in the second half without an direct impact in the final third.
- Darwin Nunez (7) – Good when he came on and helped Liverpool’s improvement in the second half.
- Harvey Elliot (7) – Was strong going forwards and got his reward with a deflected goal to seal all three points.
- Ibrahim Konate (6) – On for the final 10 minutes.
- Ryan Gravenberch (N/A)– Handed his debut in stoppage time.
Expert analysis
If Cunha was just average at shooting and striking the ball he would be a hell of a player.
— Daniel Zeqiri (@ZeqiriDan) September 16, 2023
What a debut so far from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde with Wolves. Very promising. Not a surprise though considering he is Paris born and bred of course!😉
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) September 16, 2023
Just spent most of this second half only watching Dominik Szoboszlai and he’s so good at football
— Euro (@EuroExpert_) September 16, 2023
Fan reaction
Watching Mac Allister here, you think he’d played 12,000 feet above sea level about 50 hours ago, and then flew 6,000 miles to get home. Funny that.
— Josh Williams (@DistanceCovered) September 16, 2023
Me trying to work out who Klopp is playing as his holding midfielder with seven forwards on the pitch. pic.twitter.com/pcoMEP4BrU
— Josh Williams (@DistanceCovered) September 16, 2023
