Its good to return home with a win in whatever way these days for the reds. It was a hard earned win which came with missed opportunities and way ward passed. What is important is that now Liverpool has conceded Zero in 180 Minutes and scored 3. This is the kind of performance anyone would expect from defending champions. The reds have found the winning formula and it has come from unlikely sources from the back line. Klopp picked the same eleven which gave the much needed victory against Leipzig and fans and pundits alike knew that this was going to work for the foreseeable future and wouldn’t argue with the boss. He was right to do so and it paid off well. With Aston Villa, Chelsea, Tottenham, Everton and West Ham dropping points around Liverpool, only a win could have moved them back to the top 6 and it was rightly so. With the 3 points gained at Molineux Liverpool have now moved to 6th spot and 2 points below West Ham in Europa League position but West Ham have a game in hand.
It was not an easy win but a match with mixed emotions. It’s evident that with the busy season and tough fixtures the players are now tired and need regular breaks. Klopp played Jota in the No.9 position which worked well as he constantly kept moving forward and sighting a breakthrough. Liverpool got away with a scare in the 2nd minute where Alisson got away with a possible penalty as per the commentators. The punch and the follow through was not clean but the referee dismissed the claims for a penalty. Wijnaldum sent Mane through on goal which should have been easily scored but Mane took his time to curl around the Goalie with the opportunity wasted. There were signs that Liverpool are going to end another 45 Minutes without scoring but a fine buildup play in the added minutes was converted by Jota. Nat Phillips’s “Header” found Mane who put through to Salah who sent back to Mane who in turn passed to Jota whose heavy strike along the ground deflected on Patricio’s gloves before finding the back of the net. The goal keeper was expecting the ball to rise but Jota’s clinical strike sealed the deal.
Wolves did test the defense line with Semedo and Adama constantly running down the flanks to create something but it was well dealt with. One could say that if it was City, the score line would have been at least 1-1 by the last whistle. It was rash as the reds were missing the fluency they displayed at Puskas Arena but it was a good win and it had come at the right time. Mane and Salah should concentrate on getting the ball around soon as it was seen that whenever Mane got the ball at 40 yards the game slowed down. Salah on his part was feeding the ball with a lot of unwanted touches which let wolves to regain possession. Salah would be dissapointed with his clean strike on goal was judged offside. Thiago missed his touch which was displayed at Hungary and made a few rash challenges also getting penalized with a yellow card which prompted Klopp to withdraw him in the second half. Fabinho’s presence added confidence to the back line. Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak are now cementing their positions in the back line with another clean sheet and an excellent performance. Kabak was rightly judged Man of the match with his performance, his first for the club. With 9 more games to be played and 27 points for the taking, Liverpool could end up with 73 points which is a big ask and could surely give them a top 4 finish. Liverpool go into a 3 weeks break and with only Champions League silverware for the taking Klopp knows this is a much needed break when the team could regroup. Van Dijk could return fairly earlier than expected at the cost of either Kabak or Nat which on the current juncture would be unfair by the due who had given so much. Having said that can Klopp make his fans believe? If he does win something this year, he would undoubtedly be the best tactical manager ever.
How did Liverpool F.C perform today 