Match reportGravenberch and Wirtz score as Liverpool end 2025 with win over Wolves
A quickfire double late in the first half from Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz – his first competitive goal for the club – put the Reds in command of the festive Anfield affair.
Santiago Bueno pulled one back for Wolves shortly after half-time, but Arne Slot's men held on to record their fourth consecutive win in all competitions.
Team
Federico Chiesa was handed his first start of the league campaign as one of two changes made by Slot, with Jeremie Frimpong the other.
Liverpool: Alisson, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Wirtz (Nyoni, 90+3), Mac Allister, Chiesa (Bradley, 62), Jones, Ekitike (Gakpo, 85), Frimpong, Gravenberch.
Unused subs: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Robertson, Ramsay, Ngumoha, Lucky.
First half
The opening period only really opened up in its closing stages, when the hosts struck twice within the space of 89 seconds.
Their first opportunity arrived 11 minutes in and saw Hugo Ekitike denied by the post following an exquisite through ball from Wirtz.
Mateus Mane, meanwhile, threatened twice for Wolves, first forcing Alisson Becker into a low save and then driving fractionally over from distance.
But the deadlock was broken in minute 41 by good work from Frimpong and a first-time Gravenberch finish.
Frimpong raced down the right channel and pulled the ball back into an area that invited the scorer to run onto it.
One became two in a matter of moments after the restart.
Ekitike skilfully nudged the ball past Andre on the left flank and then found the dart of Wirtz, who calmly opened his Liverpool account with a poke from inside the box.
Second half
Wolves gave themselves some fresh hope six minutes into the second half.
Santiago Bueno pounced on the rebound of an Alisson save from Tolu Arokodare's header off a corner, halving the Reds' advantage.
Wirtz, Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister each came close to restoring the two-goal lead, but Wolves still carried the belief of salvaging a point entering the final quarter of an hour.
Arokodare was off-target with a header and volley, before Conor Bradley produced a last-ditch intervention to cut out Jorgen Strand Larsen's delivery that would have found Jhon Arias.
Attendance: 60,466