YOU could forgive Liverpool’s fans for not exactly relishing their trips to Anfield these days.Despite a deserved win over Wolves, there will still be a few nagging fears over what lies in store when Manchester United rock onto Merseyside on Sunday.
Mo Salah celebrates his goal v WolvesCredit: Reuters
Yet just a week after the Reds suffered a famous European night at home but for all the wrong reasons – a 5-2 humiliation by Real Madrid – Jurgen Klopp’s team kept alive those hopes of a top four spot.
Like so many occasions since he arrived at the club five years ago, just when they needed him, Virgil van Dijk came to the rescue although this was at the other end.
Just when you got the feeling it was not going to be the club’s night, with Darwin Nunez having seen a goal ruled out for a foul, van Dijk broke Wolves’ resistance with Mo Salah getting the second four minutes later.
Liverpool still have a chance of gatecrashing the top four like two years ago, when they needed a header from Alisson against West Brom to keep them on course.
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There is still plenty of time to go and they have narrowed the gap with Spurs to six points and they have a game in hand.
But for large periods last night, Liverpool still looked like the team without any fizz.
Little wonder they had managed just 25 goals in their previous 11 Premier League games at home with nine of those coming against Bournemouth.
Compare that to last season when Liverpool had the most ferocious record at home, with 14 wins, five draws and 49 goals scored.
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After a really dodgy couple of results, the most important thing here is that they found a way to win.
Wolves, who beat Liverpool 3-0 at Molineux just 25 days earlier, will have fancied their chances of getting a point at half-time but in the second half, they simply did not create enough.
Darwin Nunez returned after missing the awful goalless draw with Palace due to a shoulder injury and he does improve the team, despite also being a frustrating player.
Equally, Liverpool still looked dodgy at the back and Alisson had to be on his toes to keep out a decent effort by Joao Moutinho
Stefan Bajcetic, who had already been applauded by the home crowd on a few occasions with some mature play beyond his 18 years, continues to look a real player.
Yet he found himself booked for a late challenge on Matheus Nunes and that put the brakes on the teenager’s game..
A lively-looking Salah provided Liverpool’s greatest attacking threat and he gave left-back Hugo Bueno the runaround.
In one Salah raid down the right, Bueno suffered an injury and he had to be replaced by Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The comedy moment of the first half came when Salah and Moutinho had a tussle with each other ahead of a home corner. Salah then gave Moutinho such a barge that he fell backwards, bounced into team-mate Sa and ended up on his backside.
Harvey Elliott, rewarded with a start after a positive impact against Palace, wasted the best chance but steered Nunez’s cross comfortably wide.
And in first half stoppage time, Elliott’s bobbling, awkwards shot looked set to bounce into the bottom corner until Sa got a big left hand to the effort.
Nunez missed a free header from the resulting corner with Wolves’ fans singing: “you’re just a sh*t Andy Carroll”.
Liverpool, who had 60 per cent possession in the first half, were not given too many problems by Wolves who unleashed Adama Traore and his oiled-up arms.
Elliott had another chance and Liverpoll created nothing until the midway point of the second half.
Nunez thought he had put Liverpool ahead but after that VAR check, ref Tierney agreed that Diogo Jota had fouled Kilman.
But Liverpol were rewarded for their persistence and Wolves could not really complain.
It was a case of second time lucky for van Dijk who saw his initial effort saved by Sa but Jota was first to the loose ball and pulled the ball across the face of goal to give the Dutchman an easy header..
And just four minutes later, Salah, sealed the three points,
Alisson hammered the ball up , Kostas Tsimikas tore down the left and his cross was turned into the goal by the thigh of Salah.
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So, unlike seven days earlier and that embarrassment to Real, Klop was all smiles.
Equally, he knows some much tougher tests are around the corner – starting with their biggest game of the season in three days’ time. More
