Liverpool regained their seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a narrow victory over relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield.
Luis Díaz put Arne Slot’s side ahead in the 15th minute and then won the penalty that Mohamed Salah converted in the 37th to earn the Reds a two-goal half-time lead.
Salah had another ruled out for offside early in the second period and the awarding of a second spot-kick for the hosts, when Diogo Jota went down under the challenge of Emmanuel Agbadou, was then rightly overturned as the Reds chased a crucial third.
Vítor Pereira’s Wolves had been prominent throughout the game, though, and deservedly got on the scoresheet when the excellent Matheus Cunha halved the deficit with a stylish 67th-minute curler.
That initiated a nervy conclusion but the Merseysiders kept hold of what could prove a big three points, with substitute Jarell Quansah making a crucial challenge on fellow half-time replacement Marshall Munetsi as he looked to meet Tommy Doyle’s late cross.
The fact that the hosts didn't register a shot in the second half spoke both of the visitors' level and the direction of travel after the break.
The West Midlanders, on 19, remain two points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich Town and the drop zone, but ought to be buoyed by a display that looked far from a team in such a position, ahead of Saturday’s trip to fifth-placed AFC Bournemouth.
For Liverpool, meanwhile, this represented a positive response to a testing week. A much-changed side exited the FA Cup at Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle last Sunday, while James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute leveller for neighbours Everton denied the Reds three points on Wednesday as the final Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park ended 2-2.
They now move onto 60 points, seven ahead of second-placed Arsenal with 13 games remaining, although there will likely be an awareness that better displays will be needed in the coming weeks and months.
Focus will quickly turn to Wednesday night’s trip to Aston Villa, with the Wolves match representing the second of five league matches in 15 days. Next Sunday’s visit to champions Manchester City and the following Wednesday’s home clash with Carabao Cup final opponents Newcastle United round off what could prove a defining period.
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Story of the match
Slot, who, like assistant Sipke Hulshoff, may face a touchline ban in the coming weeks after he was red carded following full-time on Wednesday, made two alterations to the side that started that dramatic encounter across Stanley Park.
Conor Bradley made way for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota – making his first Premier League start since 20th October – came in for Cody Gakpo, who didn’t make the bench courtesy of a knock sustained in the derby. Curtis Jones, having himself picked up a second yellow card in the melee after the final whistle at Goodison, served a one-match ban.
Pereira opted for just the one change from their last Premier League outing, a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on 1st February, as João Gomes came in for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in midfield.
Liverpool, unsurprisingly, started fast. Within 20 seconds, a corner had been won. A high tempo was set and kept by the hosts early on, although there weren’t many opportunities prior to the opener, with Jota’s seventh-minute volley wide the most notable.
Díaz then put the Reds ahead, and notched his first goal since 29th December, when a swift break forward ended with the Colombian forcing Salah’s deflected pass beyond goalkeeper José Sá and in from close range.
A superb Emmanuel Agbadou block stopped Jota firing on-target eight minutes later, while Dominik Szoboszlai rifled a 26th-minute attempt narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner.
As Pereira had promised in his pre-match press conference, this was no rearguard action from Wolves. The West Midlanders looked to step high and operate aggressively in and out of possession. The Reds, despite not always playing with great fluency, were the primary beneficiaries within the first half, though.
Pereira was booked shortly before the half-hour mark, likely for venting his frustrations at a succession of decisions, some of which saw the hosts avoid possible bookings. And his problems soon mounted.
Jota had a close-range attempt sharply kept out by Sá after the goalkeeper palmed an inviting Andy Robertson cross half-clear and Alexander-Arnold fired narrowly over from range following a corner, before the Reds won a 35th-minute penalty.
Díaz was again at the forefront, as the 28-year-old disturbed Agbadou enough to make the Ivorian centre-back misjudge a pass in behind. The No.7 subsequently reached it just ahead of Sá and the Portuguese stopper’s gloves made sufficient contact with the forward to bring him down. Referee Simon Hooper duly pointed to the spot.
Salah calmly lifted the penalty high into the roof of the net to double his team’s advantage and take his personal goal-tally in all competitions this season to 28.
Now just four off fifth-placed Sergio Agüero in the all-time Premier League goalscoring standings, with 180, the Egyptian continues to hit striking heights.
Cunha whipped a 40th-minute free-kick just wide – a warning of what was to come – but the two-goal lead was still in place at the interval and looked to have been extended early in the second half.
Salah latched on to a typically incisive Alexander-Arnold pass five minutes after the restart, worked an angle and fired into the bottom-left corner from 18 yards, but the offside flag was then rightly raised.
Jota appeared to have won another spot-kick soon after, but VAR John Brooks directed Hooper to the pitch-side monitor and the decision was overturned. It looked the correct call, with contact between Jota and the sliding Agbadou minimal and seemingly initiated by the Portugal forward.
There had been signs that Slot’s side required a third. An excellent Alexis Mac Allister block denied Cunha seconds into the second period, following a clever cut-back by half-time substitute Bellegarde, while Munetsi – also introduced at the break – brought a fine save out of Alisson Becker four minutes later when a clever flick put him through.
João Gomes curled another presentable chance over in the 63rd minute, after Cunha intercepted a loose Alexander-Arnold pass.
Indeed, Cunha did then give Wolves a route back into the game – and it was wonderfully plotted. Having received the ball from Bellegarde in an inside-left position, the Brazilian feigned a shot with his right foot to evade Ryan Gravenberch and work an angle for one on his left which, from 25 yards, he curled sublimely beyond Alisson’s reach and inside the left-hand post.
There was considerable tension in the air and tiredness in the legs from a Liverpool standpoint, but those of a Red persuasion in the stands and on the pitch retained audible and visible focus in the time that remained.
With Wataru Endō introduced by Slot in an attempt to offer additional stability, genuine opportunities for Wolves were limited.
Centre-back Quansah – himself brought on at half-time for Ibrahima Konaté, who was arguably fortunate not to receive a second booking shortly before the break for a late aerial challenge on Cunha – was on hand to pour cold water on the most dangerous moment the visitors constructed late on.
Cunha’s well-timed pass gave substitute Tommy Doyle the chance to deliver a low cross from the right but, with Munetsi seemingly set to sweep goalwards, the 22-year-old defender slid in to divert the delivery away from the Zimbabwean.
It was pleasing to see the academy graduate make such a key contribution, with 2024/25 so far proving a trickier campaign for him, off the back of such an impressive breakout season in ‘23/24.
That contribution, ultimately, proved key in ensuring his side returned to winning ways ahead of another big few days.
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PLAYER OF THE MATCH: MATHEUS CUNHA
Despite not finishing on the winning side, Cunha was as significant a force within this contest as anyone.
It is not difficult to see why the 25-year-old forward has been the source of so much interest in recent times, and why there was such delight in Wolves circles when he recently signed a new contract with the club.
Often operating in that familiar inside-left role within Pereira’s 3-4-2-1, the Brazilian was a source of composure, creativity and quality throughout. His goal – converted with his supposedly weaker left foot – was the highlight of an immensely astute showing.
Evidently able to both knit play together and provide an attack’s killer touch, the former Atlético Madrid man possesses a unique range of attributes.
Displaying them so clearly against a side widely viewed as the best in Europe so far this term ought to only further enhance the already lofty opinions of him.
