Wolves arrived winless and short on confidence, yet they made Liverpool work hard for a 2-1 victory that only settled late on.
Liverpool needed points at Anfield and they got them, but not without tension. The Premier League does not allow for comfort, even against teams at the bottom of the table. Wolves arrived winless and short on confidence, yet they made Liverpool work hard for a 2-1 victory that only settled late on. The game swung in a short spell before half-time. Liverpool had controlled possession but lacked cutting edge early. That changed in the 41st minute when Ryan Gravenberch finished a low cut-back from Jeremie Frimpong to break the deadlock. Wolves had barely reset before Liverpool struck again. Hugo Ekitike slipped a pass through the middle and Florian Wirtz ran onto it to score his first Premier League goal for the club. At that point, Liverpool looked in control. The tempo dropped after the break and Wolves took advantage. A set-piece caused problems and Santiago Bueno pulled one back after Alisson Becker could only parry the initial effort. That goal shifted the mood inside Anfield. Wolves pushed forward and Liverpool were forced into defending deeper than planned. The final stages were about holding shape and protecting the result rather than adding to the scoreline.
From a Liverpool point of view, the win mattered more than the performance. It kept momentum going and pushed the team into the top four. It also marked a personal milestone for Wirtz, whose goal proved decisive even if the afternoon never fully settled. After the match, Arne Slot focused on results first, not style. “Happy because in football it’s about results. So many times this season, our performances have been good without the results. The end product of it all, a win, is what I like,” he said to Sky Sports. Slot also pointed to squad issues during the game. “There are positive aspects that can be drawn from this. I had to involve Bradley and Cody, who didn’t train much this week. Winning despite that is considered a positive achievement.” On Wirtz, Slot made it clear the goal was only part of the story. “The team has already seen what he brings us, through creating chances and getting close to scoring,” he said. “Everyone in the world of football knows what’s said about him, even if he doesn’t know it himself.” Slot ended with a clear belief in what comes next. “Wirtz will continue to score many more goals than just this one. I think Florian delivered more than just the goal today.”
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