Who needs 90 minutes when you can score the three winning goals in 45? Liverpool will want to forget their first half at Wolves, but their second, we want more of.
Jurgen Klopp did little to hide his disdain for the “joke” that was the 12.30 start and his players really drove it home at Molineux, sluggish and though they had yet to wake up.
It allowed Wolves to take an early lead and, admittedly, the Reds were fortunate that they went into the break just a single goal down – but Liverpool went on to punish the hosts.
Cody Gakpo, Andy Robertson and Harvey Elliott all helped turn an appalling first half into a winning result, and FotMob provided the perfect visualisation for when the match turned upside down.
Oh, how the tables have turned
It is no wonder that Klopp’s thinking during the first half was “WTF,” his side were reactive and second best, with Joe Gomez out of place in the inverted system and Alexis Mac Allister fatigued.
As you can see from the graph above, Wolves had waves of momentum in the first 45, scoring early and nullifying Liverpool with their pressure as they overran Klopp’s side in midfield.
But the red wave soon arrived and that came thanks to Liverpool reverting to more of a 4-4-2 for the second half, with Luis Diaz replacing Mac Allister and the team, finally, playing to their strengths.
From just five shots and zero big chances in the first half to 11 shots and five big chances in the second, Klopp was able to flip the match on its head and his team made the most of their momentum.
Mo sits alongside Gerrard and Henry
Only denied a hat-trick of assists due to Elliott’s strike being classed as an own goal, Mo Salah‘s performance was another in the face of those who have ever deemed him greedy.
Two assists, three duels won and one recovery, it mightn’t have been a match Salah has heavily involved in, but his influence spoke for itself on the scoresheet.
And in doing so, he took his league goal contributions for Liverpool to 201 (139 goals, 62 assists) – he is only the second Red to ever reach that figure. Steven Gerrard was the first.
Salah has reached that incredible tally in just 223 games, and only Thierry Henry hit the same milestone in fewer games.
How lucky are we to watch him week in and week out?
Two passes is all it takes
When Robertson says goals do not come around too often, he wasn’t lying. He had just eight before the trip to Wolves, his shooting ability often leaving a lot to be desired.
Not on this day, though.
A beautiful first touch preceded a gallop forward, then came the pass to Salah and a bursting run into the box before a sublime first-time finish.
Two passes was all it took. From the first touch to the ball nestling in the net, eight seconds.
We could watch it back over and over again!
The first of many for Quansah
“He did well, eh? He did really well, was really good, it’s a nice, wonderful experience for him,” Klopp assessed post-match.
We can’t disagree.
Where others were bamboozled at the start, Jarell Quansah was composed and as though it was one of many appearances and not his first start for Liverpool, a huge complement for the 20-year-old, who excelled:
- 96 percent passing accuracy – highest of any starter
- Three accurate long balls (100 percent)
- Five clearances, two interceptions, three tackles (join-most of any Red)
Another bright young talent, we can never have too many of them!
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