Match reportAnother dramatic away comeback sees Liverpool beat Wolves 3-1
Liverpool produced another dramatic turnaround on the road as two late goals earned a 3-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Hwang Hee-chan slotted in with seven minutes on the clock in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Molineux, providing the hosts a lead they held until early in the second half.
Cody Gakpo’s close-range finish from Mohamed Salah’s assist brought the Reds level, though, and the latter then set up Andy Robertson – Jürgen Klopp’s captain on the day – to tuck in a cool 85th-minute effort.
And substitute Harvey Elliott helped to increase Liverpool’s sudden lead with a strike off the post in stoppage time that was given as a Hugo Bueno own goal, ensuring a fourth consecutive victory.
Team news
Jarell Quansah made his first competitive start for the senior team, deployed at centre-back with Joe Gomez moving to the right side of defence in place of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool: Alisson, Gomez, Quansah (Konate, 82), Matip, Robertson, Mac Allister (Diaz, 46), Jones, Szoboszlai, Jota (Nunez, 56), Salah (Gravenberch, 90+3), Gakpo (Elliott, 56).
Unused subs: Kelleher, Endo, Tsimikas, Bajcetic.
First half
Wolves made a brisk start to proceedings and their early forays produced an opening goal inside seven minutes.
Pedro Neto dribbled into the left side of the Liverpool penalty area and swept a cross towards the opposite post, where Hwang was on hand to squeeze a low finish past Alisson Becker.
A Wolves move down the right-hand flank then created a similar opportunity for Neto, who skewed over the bar under attention from Gomez, before Diogo Jota fired too high from the centre of the other box.
Neto swiped another effort wide at the end of a counter-attack as the hosts continued to enjoy the more promising opportunities.
Indeed, Gary O’Neil’s team could have doubled their lead in minute 34. Neto beat Gomez on the touchline before lifting a cross into the middle for Matheus Cunha, who misjudged his attempted header from close range, allowing Quansah to clear.
A patient passage of passing from Liverpool then saw Robertson played in down the left channel. The skipper for the day picked out Gakpo but the No.18 could not make full contact with a side-footer.
Gakpo glanced a header into the stand from Gomez’s cross in the final minute of the half and a scramble followed in added time, with Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai seeing shots blocked after Jose Sa fumbled Robertson’s delivery.
Second half
Klopp sent on Luis Diaz for Alexis Mac Allister at the outset of the second half and within 90 seconds the Colombian nodded off target from Robertson’s tee-up.
But the Reds got themselves level in the 55th minute.
From their latest attack, Jota battled at the edge of the area to move the ball into Salah, whose cross-shot from right to left found Gakpo to touch home yards out.
The visitors had already prepared a double change that they pressed on with in the aftermath of their equaliser – goalscorer Gakpo and Jota were replaced by Elliott and Darwin Nunez.
Sa rushed from his line to thwart Nunez after he combined with Diaz to get into a one-on-one inside the box, with Liverpool now firmly in the ascendancy entering the contest’s final 20 minutes.
As time ticked away, Wolves’ appeals for a handball by Joel Matip – and penalty – from Nelson Semedo’s drive were waved away and Quansah succumbed to a knock.
There was still time for the Reds to produce another sensational late comeback away from home, though, as Robertson completed an incisive long-range one-two with Salah to glide into the box and nudge the ball under Sa for 2-1.
And, in the first of eight added minutes, Elliott cracked a 20-yard shot in off the inside of the right post, via a Bueno touch – from a third Salah set-up of an ultimately hugely satisfying afternoon that also saw new midfielder Ryan Gravenberch make a debut in the closing moments.