Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers A Liverpool Perspective



The first half was another step forward for Liverpool, dominating the possession and pegging Wolves back for almost the entire 45. Though it must be said, this was not a Wolves team that offered a lot of resistance. However, letting Wirtz, Chiesa and Ekitike roam all over the pitch covered for the fact that Mac Allister offered absolutely nothing, almost making it feel like there were eleven players on the Liverpool team in the first half. Wirtz was the key, he was getting the ball in places where he could do damage and ran the show. With Frimpong and Kerkez bombing on down the flanks, it meant there was always width in the team to occupy Wolves' thoughts as well. It was a very good tactical set up to nullify and defeat a deep lying defence trying to park the bus and the 2-0 lead was fully deserved as the teams went off at the break.

Unfortunately, Slot had some kind of Konate brain fart moment at half time and decided to rip up everything that was working so well and lock Wirtz on to the left flank, rendering him mostly ineffective. His constant choices to look to hold onto a lead are a real bugbear for me, especially against a team like Wolves, who are, possibly ironically(?), toothless. This happened a lot last season as well, the team would have their foot on the throat of the opposition and he would make changes which lifted it off. It would then require a frantic, Klopp-style, high intensity finish to the game to get the result. The problem is, that high intensity level has vanished out of the team this season, they simply are not fit enough to sustain it. They can barely manage 90 minutes at the slow, laborious pace Slot often has them playing at. This really needs to be looked at and rectified.

The lack of fitness, which sees a massive drop off as the second half goes on, is extremely worrying. There are players like Szoboszlai and Wirtz, who look fit, but most of the rest look well off being fully fit, Isak was just the most obvious example of the malaise. For me, it is holding back the team from being able to really step up and push on up the table to chase after the top 3 and pick off any one of them that falls away as the season goes on. The play is showing positive signs, though still too slow and boring for my liking, it is getting results and that is the most important thing.



Wolverhampton Wanderers


They are so bad, they came to lose, with no ambition of even snatching a draw and nearly got handed one anyway due to a poor tactical decision at half-time by Slot and Konate's ineptitude. There is, it is very clear, absolutely no confidence amongst most of the squad, apart from the youngster Mane, who was obviously buzzing to make his full debut at Anfield. That is why he was the one player who really looked to make things happen and took the game to Liverpool almost on his own at times. You could also see the big forward Tolu growing in confidence, as he realised he could bully both Liverpool's centre-backs, and he gave them a really hard night.

The biggest problem for Wolves is the lack of creativity, they have two very good defensive midfielders in the centre of midfield but they are out of their depth when breaking forward, as we saw when Gomes broke clear. The whole team lacks any real forward impetus, they were heavily reliant on Cunha creating something out of nothing last season, now he is gone, they have almost nothing. Unless Edwards can find a reliable method of producing chances with this squad, and he will have to pretty much magic it out of thin air by the looks of it, they are going to make Derby County's worst-ever Premier League team look like world beaters.

The only real hope for Wolves' fans is that the confidence gained from giving LFC a fright in the second half can be built upon in forthcoming games and helped by some clever January signings. I am not sure anyone, even with a blank cheque to sign any player in the world in January, can actually save them now though. They look the biggest certs for relegation I have ever seen. To me, I think their only real option is to accept that and give Edwards time to turn it around next season, as there does not seem to be a better option out there for them other than to hope to get an immediate return next season.



Liverpool


Alisson - had little to do, though he did seem to get infected with the panic after Wolves pulled one back and made a sloppy pass.


Frimpong - had a really good game, particularly in the first half, where he was able to get forward at will from full-back and used his pace and energy to run at them, creating a goal.


Konate - awful again, got away with a few mistakes in the first half and then made an embarrassing dive after failing to deal with the ball in for their goal. To have the cheek to


van Dijk - decent game, not top van Dijk level, but good. He won his aerial battles up against Tolu and dealt with the big man well when he faced him.


Kerkez - finally let off the leash and allowed to charge forward at will in the first half and he rewarded Slot for that freedom by putting in a really good performance in the first half. With Wirtz wandering all over the pitch, he had acres of space to run into, and he took full advantage of it. Unfortunately, he was constrained in the second half, with a return to an overly static and slow set up and was just decent. That first half needs to be the blueprint of how to use him.


Jones - as usual Jones is frustrating, good moments are mixed with just as many where he has a chance to take a game by the scruff of the neck but just fails to take that step up. The ability is there, he just needs to learn when to hold onto the ball and when to release it. What I was impressed with was his experience at the end of the game, taking the sting out of it by putting himself into a position where he knew he would get fouled by the Wolves' players, who were desperate to win the ball back. That is what I call clever play, not diving to win a free kick where no foul happened, but putting yourself into a position to draw a genuine foul by ensuring your back is exposed to an onrushing player. He knew it was coming and he could easily have tried to make it into a battle by putting his shoulder in as well, but it made a lot more sense to simply take the foul.


Gravenberch - good finish for the goal and some nice moments but he really needs to work on his passing. He can burst into space so easily and clearly strikes a ball cleanly, so why is his passing often so poor? It is the biggest chink in his play. I am not including vacating the space in front of the defence, as that is on instruction rather than him doing something wrong on his own.


Chiesa - I know a lot have criticised his performance and been unhappy that he tired early and needed to be withdrawn, but I think, especially considering how rusty he must be, he had a good game. He was involved at both ends of the pitch, tracking back well, working extremely hard and also showed some good movement to create space on the right. He was a good foil for Wirtz, who popped up everywhere and needed someone like Chiesa to vacate space and draw away defenders for him to operate.


Wirtz - in my opinion, in the first half, he was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch. He was given freedom to roam and he used it. He was also excellent at harrying the opposition defence and tracking back, he is not just a brilliant ball player, he is a genuinely hard working player. He ran the game in the first half and was at the heart of everything, as well as finally getting his first goal for LFC. Then, for some reason I really do not understand, Slot decided to shackle him to the left wing and nullified him completely. It changed the game completely and brought Wolves back into it, when it should have been a case of grinding them into the dirt and improving the goal difference. A huge tactical error for me.


Mac Allister - what does this guy have to do to get dropped? Or even subbed off? Once again utterly abysmal. Most overrated player Liverpool have had in years. He had so few good games last season and this season he has not had one, but somehow he is still seen as a top midfielder. Along with Konate, he could so easily be upgraded upon and it would would transform this team by simply putting someone in there who offers something.


Ekitike - once again looked like a real threat, though was never really able to use his pace to run in behind. His work winning the ball back and then playing in Wirtz for his goal showed that he is not just a goalscorer. He should be embarrassed by the way he went down holding his throat after just being brushed. That was Mac Allister levels of pathetic.


Bradley - replaced the tiring Chiesa in the 61st minute. Once again mixed, he does something excellent but usually follows it with a moment of stupidity. There is a player there, but he needs a lot of guidance to understand that just running into the centre of the pitch up front is not the be all and end all.


Gakpo - came on for the also tiring Ekitike in the 86th minute. Looked lethargic and sluggish, failed to track back the way Wirtz had been, despite having fresh legs and only a few minutes to play.


Nyoni - took the place of Wirtz in the 90th+2 minute. Came on far too late to really do much one way or the other.

Written by Tris Burke December 30 2025 05:57:00