Wolves 2-1 Liverpool: Bottom club secure second straight victory as Reds falter | OneFootball

Liverpool stumbled in their bid to secure Champions League football as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of table-footers Wolves at Molineux.

A second goal in as many games from Rodrigo Gomes handed Wolves an unlikely lead in the 77th minute before Mohammed Salah equalised to end his 122-day Premier League goal drought.

Late drama ensued as Andre’s 94th minute attempt rippled the net via a deflection off of substitute Joe Gomez to hand Wolves back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in 11 months, whilst Liverpool miss the chance to leapfrog Aston Villa.

As it happened

Buoyed by their win over local rivals Aston Villa last Friday, Wolves began the game with a newfound confidence but it was Liverpool who had the first real opening.

Salah raced onto a lofted pass in behind the hosts’ backline but a combination of Santiago Bueno and Ladislav Krejci smothered the chance.

All four sides of Molineux rose to pay tribute to former Reds and Wolves star Diogo Jota in the 18th minute, a nod to the number he donned in the Black Country.

Opportunities were hard to come by in the first period. A wild strike from Jeremie Frimpong and a speculative attempt by Dominik Szoboszlai were barely of note whilst Cody Gakpo thrust a shot straight down the throat of Jose Sa.

Liverpool showed more attacking impetus after the interval and should have broken the deadlock five minutes into the second half.

VAR waved away the Reds’ appeals for a penalty after Krejci turned Frimpong’s cross behind for a corner. The subsequent delivery inexplicably stayed out as Gakpo flicked the ball away from substitute Curtis Jones, only to see the effort clip the crossbar before Wolves scrambled it away.

More inustrious defending from Krejci bailed the hosts out on a couple of occasions and it paid dividends when they took the lead with just over 10 minutes of regulation time remaining.

Tolu Arokodare outmuscled Virgil van Dijk before slipping the ball into the path of fellow substitute Rodrigo Gomes who delicately dinked over Allison.

Slot’s side almost found an instant response as youngster Rio Ngumoha’s curled effort was sensationally tipped onto the post by Sa.

The Reds did draw level moments later as a careless pass from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde ran into the path of Salah and the Egyptian stabbed into the near-post, with Sa unable to keep the effort out.

There proved to be one more twist in stoppage time as a misplaced clearance from Allison left Liverpool scrambling before Andre’s strike deflected off Joe Gomez, with the Brazilian ‘keeper helpless to stop it.

Late victory sees Wolves reduce the gap to safety to 11 points, whilst Liverpool could find themselves behind Chelsea should Liam Rosenior’s side beat Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Analysis: Too little to late for Rob Edwards

Wolves fans must be scratching their heads as to how the side they’ve watched flatter to deceive all campaign has sourced new inspiration in recent weeks.

It’s now three wins and just one defeat in their last six across all competitions for Rob Edwards’ side but supporters of the Old Gold must be wondering where these sorts of performances have been all season.

Wolves were organised and assured against the reigning champions and showed moments of flair in possession too. There will undoubtedly be a swathe of parties eyeing up midfielder Joao Gomes, who oozed class in the centre of the park.

Edwards has found a way to tighten the previously leaky backline and although they may lack cutting edge at the top end of the pitch, his side are now far more difficult to beat than they’ve proved for most of the campaign.

He’ll be left to rue the run of seven straight defeats his side endured when he first took the reins in late November, which has ultimately left them a mountain too big to climb.

Despite already being all but condemned to a stint in England’s second tier next season, there’s fresh optimism in the Black Country and they could yet catch Burnley to rescue a slither of pride from an otherwise dismal year.