Liverpool 2-1 Wolves: Wirtz scores first goal as Reds end year with Anfield win | OneFootball

The Reds’ summer signing gets off the mark as both clubs remember Diogo Jota

Florian Wirtz finally scored his first goal for Liverpool as he orchestrated what turned into a less-than-comfortable 2-1 Premier League win over bottom side Wolves.

A week after registering his first league assist, the Germany international, who had been denied his maiden strike when his effort against Sunderland three weeks ago was ruled an own goal, moved up a level as he pulled the strings for a third-successive league victory.

That came just 89 seconds after Wirtz’s former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong had teed up the opener for Ryan Gravenberch, who broke out Diogo Jota’s crocodile celebration on an emotional afternoon for the late forward’s former two teams.

Ryan Gravenberch (L) celebrates scoring Liverpool’s opener, with a tribute to Diogo Jota

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Two of Jota’s children – Dinis and Duarte – plus a couple of other young family members were part of the pre-match presentation line-ups with one son walking out with Virgil van Dijk and the other with Sa, watched by their mother Rute from the touchline.

It was an emotional occasion for both teams with the visiting fans singing their tribute to their former player, who with his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in July, in the 18th minute and Anfield rising as one in his memory when the clock ticked over to 20 minutes, the number of his now-retired Liverpool shirt.

Wirtz, whose shimmy past Matt Doherty drew gasps of appreciation, continued to pull the strings after half-time and drilled a shot into the side-netting from a corner.

However, by then Wolves had pulled a goal back through Hugo Bueno after exploiting Liverpool’s weakness at set-pieces.

That made things far more uncomfortable than it really should have been for Liverpool, who in the first half played the game predominantly in Wolves’ final third.

Alexis Mac Allister hit the same post as Ekitike before Frimpong drove to the byline past Joao Gomes and Bueno and cut back for Gravenberch to ram home a low shot.

Just over a minute later the roar was even louder as Wirtz opened his account with a quality finish.

However, seven minutes after half-time Alisson Becker could only parry a header from Tolu Arokodare, whose aerial threat was a problem, after he out-jumped Ibrahima Konate and Bueno converted the rebound.

The goal reopened the mental wounds which led to a chaotic finish when they conceded at Tottenham last time out and when Arokodare sent another header over, alarm bells started to ring.

Anfield became more nervous as they saw a team which has now become the first to fail to win in their opening 18 matches of a Premier League campaign finish the stronger with Conor Bradley’s perfectly-timed tackle denying Jhon Arias a late equaliser.