Liverpool, like Arsenal and Aston Villa, slipped up against bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton. An improved performance and Salah’s first goal since November were not enough for the Reds, as André scored a lucky goal in injury time.
Last weekend, Liverpool jumped to fifth place, which should be enough to qualify for the Champions League thanks to the good performances of the European Cup participants. To defend this position on their own, they needed a must-win against bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton, who had recently upset Arsenal and Aston Villa.
Although Rob Edwards rested regulars such as Mosquera and Bueno due to the two teams’ FA Cup match on Friday, the Reds still struggled against the underdogs. In an open opening phase, only Frimpong, who replaced Gomez from the 5-2 win over West Ham, had a chance after a counterattack (15th minute). The visitors then took control and settled in the opposition’s half, but they were far too sluggish, with the ball circulating too slowly, among other things. Consequently, the first half ended goalless.
Van Dijk is too easily pushed away
Slot reacted to the poor performance and brought on Jones for Gravenberch. The substitute almost made an immediate impact, but his teammate Gakpo got in the way: from a corner kick at the far post, the ball would have bounced off Jones’ chest and into the net from a meter out, but Gakpo jumped in and hit the crossbar from practically the goal line (51′).
Although the reigning champions significantly increased their intensity after the restart, the set piece remained the only chance for a long time. Time and again, a defender from the home side successfully threw himself in the way. This was symbolized by two scenes involving Krejci, who prevented two dangerous scoring opportunities for Mac Allister (64th, 68th) – and things got even worse for the Reds: Rodrigo Gomes took advantage of the hosts’ first attack in the penalty area in the second half to take the lead, after van Dijk had been pushed away too easily (78th).
Gomez deflects Andrés’ shot unstoppably
LFC promptly increased the risk and equalized shortly thereafter. After Ngumoha hit the post (79′), Salah punished Bellegarde for his misplaced pass – it was the Egyptian’s first Premier League goal since November 1 (83′). However, this was only a minor detail on the evening, as the 1-1 draw was not even enough for a point. André sent Molineux into ecstasy deep into stoppage time – Gomez deflected what was actually a harmless shot into the net (90+4).
While the hosts won two games in a row for the first time this season, Liverpool lost again after four competitive wins. Slot’s team will have a chance to get revenge as early as Friday, when the two teams meet in the FA Cup round of 16.
