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Five months after the coronation, the Kop finally resonated with the sound of “champions.” Liverpool showed loyal viewers and the rest of the Premier League why with a ruthless dissection of a Wolves team that seemed lost without Raúl Jiménez as a focal point.
“If nobody is injured, then it was the perfect night,” said Jurgen Klopp, after dusting off his celebration against Kop for the first time since March. “When we went out for the warm-up and heard the noise, it was a real goosebump moment. It was so nice to hear that you will never walk alone again. It was good that we were able to give them something back. “
Liverpool gave 2,000 fans a first-hand demonstration of their defensive stamina, with goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher assured once again in Alisson’s absence, and their ability to sanction any slippage in the opposition ranks. Unfortunately for the team of Conor Coady and Nuno Espírito Santo, they offered a lot.
Coady endured a night to forget at his old club, as his mistake led to Mohamed Salah’s first goal and VAR canceled a penalty he won with a lousy crash. Georginio Wijnaldum, with an impressive second, Joël Matip and Sadio Mané, through a finishing touch from Nélson Semedo, completed what turned out to be a win. “The high standards that we have set were not there,” the Wolves coach lamented. “We certainly miss Raúl, but we have to find a quick solution because we cannot repeat this performance and work again. That was wrong.”
Anfield had less than 4% occupancy, but 2,000 people can make an impressive noise in an arena that has been uncomfortably quiet for far too long. The pre-game chant for “Bring the Champions” spoke of pride and also nostalgia for the arduous wait to finally finish. The wolf players gave their own message during the warm-up, wearing jerseys that read: “Stay strong Raul, the pack is with you.” Jiménez returned home from the hospital on Sunday, having fractured his skull at Arsenal seven days earlier.
Liverpool were agile and quick to take advantage of any gap in the visiting ranks. Adama Traoré was initially dangerous on the right wing of the Wolves attack and both defenders were regularly stretched in an entertaining first half. Kelleher, who made his Premier League debut for Liverpool after an excellent performance against Ajax, produced a good save to deny Daniel Podence when Jiménez’s replacement tried to remove the young goalkeeper from Traoré’s dismissal. Traoré created another opening when he jumped away from Fabinho but good coverage from Neco Williams prevented Neto from connecting with his center to the far post.
The game was finely balanced as Coady’s return to her childhood club began her descent into a personal test. The England international seemed to have a routine situation under control as Jordan Henderson delivered a long ball to the heart of the Wolves defense. However, his chest attempt at Willy Boly lacked power and precision, and with his central defensive colleague sold out, Salah pounced on Coady’s mistake to drive low past Rui Patrício. Salah’s 11th goal of the season may have been gift wrapped, but it was also a reward for his predatory instincts.
Coady’s dire evening was underway. The Lobos were awarded a penalty two minutes before halftime when the defender went down while challenging for a loose ball inside the Liverpool box with Mané. The Senegalese international made a risky attempt to clear Curtis Jones’s header with an overhead kick and referee Craig Pawson immediately pointed to the spot where Mané appeared to connect with Coady’s stomach. But there was no contact. Mané removed his foot before Coady entered his sphere and, having advised him to study the court monitor, Pawson rightly reversed his penalty decision. However, he should have booked the captain of the Wolves for his attempted deception. The Kop made his feelings clear with chants of “cheat, cheat.”
The wolves’ display deteriorated from that point on. Mané noted a dominant performance in the second half from the champions with two chances for good game passages. For the second start, wide open by Mané, Salah found Robertson with a perfect one-inch center and the full-back threw the forward with a first touch on Semedo’s legs. Liverpool had just warmed up.
Moments after Coady failed to capitalize on a Traoré cross into the box, Henderson launched a Liverpool counterattack with a ball for the first time at Wijnaldum. When the midfielder attacked and considered his options, the Wolves defense fell back. Wijnaldum used Coady as a marker and launched an unstoppable shot around the defender and into the top corner from 20 yards.
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Liverpool’s third came from a short corner and another wonderful delivery from Salah. His center cut through the Wolves defense for Matip to head past Patrício from close range.
Alexander-Arnold had only returned to the fray for 10 minutes when he provided his last assist for the fourth. Receiving a pass from Jones into space to the right, the full-back made a low cross into the visitors area, where Mané’s missed shot hit Semedo and slid over the line.
