Late Collapse Seals Painful Wolves Win Over Liverpool | OneFootball

Wolves 2-1 Liverpool – Premier League Postmortem

By Steven Smith

After a midweek trip to the Midlands that carried opportunity as much as obligation, Liverpool leaves Molineux with regret rather than reward. The arithmetic was favourable. The performance is territorially dominant. The outcome? Punitive and again points to why this must be the final season of Arne Slot.

The Starting Eleven

Liverpool XI

• GK – Alisson Becker

• RB – Jeremie Frimpong

• CB – Ibrahima Konaté

• CB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

• LB – Milos Kerkez

• CM – Alexis Mac Allister

• CM – Ryan Gravenberch

• CM – Dominik Szoboszlai

• LW – Cody Gakpo

• CF – Hugo Ekitike

• RW – Mohamed Salah

Substitutes

Curtis Jones → Ryan Gravenberch (45’)

Rio Ngumoha → Mohamed Salah (65’)

Andy Robertson → Milos Kerkez (65’)

Joe Gomez → Curtis Jones (72’)

Federico Chiesa → Ibrahima Konaté (79’)

Goals

Wolves 1-0 Liverpool – Rodrigo Gomes (Tolu Arokodare) – 78’

Wolves 1-1 Liverpool – Mohamed Salah – 83’

Wolves 2-1 Liverpool – Andre (Jackson Tchatchoua) – 90+4’

Match Statistics

• Possession – Wolves 34% | Liverpool 66%

• XG – Wolves 0.44 | Liverpool 1.87

• Total Shots – Wolves 4 | Liverpool 19

• Fouls – Wolves 10 | Liverpool 13

• Corners – Wolves 2 | Liverpool 11

First Half

After the kick off the reigning champions controlled what was in front of them. Much of Alisson Becker’s half was about recycling possession rather than repelling danger. Wolves sat in a low block, narrow and compact, inviting Liverpool to move the ball wide and attempt to break them down through repetition rather than invention.

Jeremie Frimpong operated more like a winger than a full-back but struggled to impact in the final third. Milos Kerkez found little joy linking with Cody Gakpo, the left flank offering minimal attacking invention. In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister was unable to truly take control of the middle ground, while Ryan Gravenberch was caught out continually and took a booking that had him treading defensive waters.

Only one midfielder consistently looked to make something happen.

Dominik Szoboszlai spread the play, demanded the ball and tried to raise the tempo. Against a repetitive structure, his willingness to break lines and accelerate circulation stood out. It was not always precise, but the intent was clear.

Liverpool had territory. They had volume. They did not have an incision.

Second Half

The restart brought increased urgency but not increased clarity. Gravenberch was withdrawn at the break, Curtis Jones was introduced to add control and he should have scored with a chested effort on the line.

Wolves, meanwhile, waited.

Konaté was reactive to counters but unable to prevent the grind toward the opening goal. Van Dijk, commanding for much of the night, was caught under the ball as Wolves struck first. Alisson, largely untested beforehand, was left exposed.

Mohamed Salah, who had been unable to make a true impression from his wide role, produced a brilliant solo finish to equalise. For a moment, inevitability hovered.

But Liverpool’s dominance was cosmetic. The low block, the energy of Wolves in the latter stages, and Liverpool’s own lack of coordinated penetration told the story. Joe Gomez failed to halt the winner deep into stoppage time, a cruel deflection sealing a damaging defeat.

Final Thoughts

Liverpool finished with 66% possession, 19 shots and an XG advantage that reads comfortably in their favour. Yet this was repetitive and unoriginal. Control without authority. Pressure without precision.

No one truly excelled. But once again, Szoboszlai was the only midfield man attempting to shift the dial. On a bad night, he remained Liverpool’s brightest spark and continues to show why he is the Player of the Season.

The numbers flatter. The result stings.

Steven Smith’s Pre–Match Prediction:

Wolves 1-2 Liverpool