Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
AnfieldAttendance53,259.
Match report and free match highlights as Liverpool move up to sixth with 2-0 win over Wolves at Anfield; Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah score second-half goals to seal win; Liverpool are six points off the top four, while Wolves are just three points above the relegation zone
Thursday 2 March 2023 06:11, UK
Liverpool moved to within six points of the Premier League's top four as second-half goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah guided them to a 2-0 win over a stubborn Wolves side at Anfield.
Liverpool's 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid last week had created a sense of doom and gloom around Anfield, but Jurgen Klopp's side went into their fixture against Wolves after picking up seven points from their last three league games without conceding a goal.
And the Reds maintained that resurgent form thanks to two of the players that have helped to define Klopp's Anfield reign, with Van Dijk finally breaking the deadlock in the 73rd minute when he headed in Diogo Jota's cross from close range.
Salah then sealed the points just four minutes later when he turned in Kostas Tsimikas' low ball into the Wolves area to move Liverpool up to sixth, while the visitors remain only three points above the relegation zone.
The daunting task that Liverpool face to keep their European campaign alive in the Bernabeu later this month, added to the fact they are out of the FA Cup, means securing Champions League football for next season is their sole focus for the final months of the season.
Klopp has admitted changes are needed to his squad in the summer but the players currently at his disposal are showing they still have plenty to offer in the Premier League, with three wins and a draw - plus four clean sheets - since their 3-0 thrashing at Wolves at the start of February.
Julen Lopetegui’s side never looked like repeating that scoreline at Anfield but they did trouble their hosts early on, with Alisson pushing a Joao Moutinho shot wide and Pablo Sarabia just failing to connect with Raul Jimenez’s bicycle kick when unmarked at the far post.
Liverpool gradually grew into the game and should have been ahead through Harvey Elliott, who put a free header wide from the centre of the penalty area, but there was an unusually subdued atmosphere at Anfield, with the supporters seemingly waiting for their side to give them something to cheer.
In truth, they probably should have received the opposite in the 53rd minute when Fabinho escaped a red card - and a VAR review - when he stamped on Mario Lemina as the two midfielders contested a loose ball.
VAR then did catch up with Liverpool in the 65th minute when Darwin Nunez’s smart finish was ruled out for an inadvertent foul on Max Kilman by Diogo Jota in the build-up, but the Reds were not to be denied.
Van Dijk saw his initial effort palmed away by Jose Sa after meeting a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick, but he reacted quickest moments later to meet Jota’s cross, before Salah was handed an equally simple chance from Tsimikas’ driving assist.
Liverpool’s Real rematch looms on the schedule but their immediate focus will be on Sunday when they travel to play an in-form Manchester United - live on Sky Sports - with their unbeaten domestic run providing a much-needed boost in confidence at a crucial time in the season.
Klopp was pleased to see his side return to winning ways after being held at Crystal Palace at the weekend, saying: "The boys really wanted it, scored two wonderful goals and 2-0 is obviously a top result."
The manager was less impressed by referee Paul Tierney and VAR Stuart Attwell's decision to chalk off Nunez's goal, but took solace from the way his side responded to that setback.
"I've seen it back and I don't think it's a foul," he said. "When you watch it in slow-motion everything looks like a foul.
"But reacting like this is important, it's important information for us tonight and we have to keep that.
"In a couple of days we go again but tonight was obviously exactly what we wanted and we needed; a fantastic atmosphere, a super result and the boys have come through with no major issues, so that's all good.
"A lot of really good performances tonight which is obviously very helpful."
Lopetegui admitted Wolves did not deserve to claim their first win in three matches, saying: "We didn't develop the plan we had in our head.
"To win here you have to make more in the offensive phase, which we didn't do. They deserved to win. They pushed a lot in the second half.
"We weren't able to keep the rhythm they were able to propose and they won very clearly."
Jota may not have found the net since finally returning from his four-month layoff, but it may be no coincidence that Liverpool have enjoyed an upturn in form since he was brought back into the side.
The Reds are unbeaten in the Premier League since Jota recovered from the serious calf injury that caused him to miss the World Cup and, while he was involved in the mauling at the hands of Real Madrid, he played in less than a third of that game.
Jota provides plenty of what Liverpool have been missing in recent months. The time he has spent in Klopp’s system means he is more attuned to the demands placed on the manager’s forwards when their team don’t have the ball, while he is more direct than some of his attacking team-mates.
Jota also possesses more guile in possession than the likes of Nunez and Cody Gakpo, which he showed with his composed ball into the area for Van Dijk’s opener, while he was unlucky to foul Kilman in the run-up to Nunez's disallowed goal after setting up the chance with a powerful run.
The Portugal international’s lack of goals show he is still not fully back to his best, but his return has come at the opportune time for Liverpool as they close on a top-four spot.
Manchester United visit Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 4.30pm. Jurgen Klopp's side then go to Bournemouth on Saturday March 11; kick-off 12.30pm.
Wolves host Tottenham on Saturday at Molineux - kick-off 3pm - before travelling to Newcastle on Sunday March 12, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 4.30pm.
