Roberto Firmino snatched victory for Liverpool in the dying stages of the game against a brilliant Wolves side on Thursday night to put the Reds 16 points clear at the top of the table.
Despite a nervy start by Liverpool, with Wolves having a lot of success down the left-hand side, it was the visitors who opened proceedings through
Wolves 1-2 Liverpool FT:
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) January 23, 2020
Goals from Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson either side of a Raúl Jiménez strike, hand Liverpool a big win. pic.twitter.com/mBiB7gnVm7
Wolves tested the resolve their opponents and drew level in the opening five minutes of the second half though, when Traoré chipped a sublime floating cross into the box for Raul Jiménez to power home with his head. Traoré even had an opportunity to put his side in front in the 65th minute, but was denied by a smart save from Alisson.
Both sides continued to press forward and Liverpool got their reward in the dying moments of the game courtesy of a clinical finish from Roberto Firmino after some neat footwork from Salah.
Wolves
Key Talking Point
Wolves' game plan was clear to see from the outset as Adama Traoré was instructed to pin Liverpool's back line close to their box, and it worked tremendously. The bulky winger was effective and extremely difficult to dispossess, often drawing the attention of several Liverpool players at a time to create space for his teammates.
Nuno Espírito Santo is an expert at playing to his side's strengths and did so effectively against Liverpool. The home side looked dangerous every time they ventured forward and had a firm hold on the second half of the game.
Wolves will feel aggrieved not to have come away with at least a point against a Liverpool side who were not at the races for large parts of the game.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Rui Patrício (6); Dendoncker (6), Coady (7), Saïss (6); Doherty (7), Moutinho (6), Neves (6), Otto (6); Neto (7), Jiménez (7), Traoré (9*).
Substitutes: Jota (5), Gibbs-White (N/A).
Adama Traoré
Fast, dynamic, direct. Traoré had a fantastic night against Liverpool and their back line as the 23-year-old pinned both full-backs deep within their own half, stopping any chance of a counter.
The skilful winger grasped every opportunity to run at Liverpool's defenders and continued to show signs of improvement following his bright start to the 2019/20 campaign.
Tonight we find out what happens when an immovable object (Van Dijk) meets and unstoppable force (Traore).
— Luke (@LukeStereoBrain) January 23, 2020
The answer is the immovable object ends up on the floor@BBCSport #WOLLIV
Traoré was unstoppable throughout the game, and the Liverpool players were unable to contain the pace of the winger. Even some the most obstinate of Liverpool fans were left pondering the idea him in a red shirt.
Traore putting on a performance for his new manager next season! #traore2020 #beast
— Alex (@differentalex87) January 23, 2020
The former Barcelona graduate capped off a fine performance with an assist for Wolves' equaliser after one of his trademark runs down Liverpool's left-hand side.
Liverpool
Key Talking Point
Liverpool have a superb knack of winning games after scoring the first goal.
As a matter of fact, the Reds haven't squandered a lead since April 2018, which is a testament to Jürgen Klopp's incredible game management. It's also, to be fair, probably something to do with the fact they've only lost two Premier League games in that time.
Liverpool struggled to contain the advances of Wolves throughout the second half, and paid for their failure to grasp control of the game when the visitors equalised early on in the second half.
However, a late winner from the Reds' number nine was enough to snatch all three points at the death, recording their 40th successive unbeaten game and their 22nd win in 23 Premier League games this season.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Alisson (7*); Alexander-Arnold (5), Gomez (6), Van Dijk (6), Robertson (5); Oxlade-Chamberlain (5), Henderson (6), Wijnaldum (6); Salah (6), Firmino (7), Mané (4).
Substitutes: Minamino (5), Fabinho (N/A), Origi (N/A).
Alisson
Although he did not have an outstanding game, Alisson made a number of vital stops to keep his side in the game and was worthy of being Liverpool's man of the match.
The Brazilian shot-stopper prevented the home side from running away with the game in the second half after a number of fine saves to deny Traoré and Raul Jiménez.
Three observations from this game so far.
— Sam Hunter (@realsamhunter) January 23, 2020
1. Traore has reached charizard level of evolution
2. Robbo needs a rest.
3. Alisson is phenomenal
I love Alisson what a keeper , kept us in this game
— Tom Dallison (@tpdallison) January 23, 2020
Roberto Firmino gets an honourable mention, but his influence ebbed and flowed throughout the 90 minutes.
Looking Ahead
Following this defeat, Wolves travel to Old Trafford to take on an out-of-sorts Manchester United side before welcoming Leicester City to Molineux two weeks later.
Meanwhile, Liverpool travel to unfamiliar territory in the form of New Meadow to face Shrewsbury in the fourth round of the FA Cup before returning to Premier League action against West Ham at the London Stadium.
Source : 90min