Wolves 1 – 2 Liverpool

Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win against Wolves at Molineux.

Ibrahima Konate’s header was canceled out by Rayan Ait-Nouri’s equaliser, but Mohamed Salah’s penalty quickly put Arne Slot’s side back in the lead and they capitalized on Manchester City’s slip-up against Newcastle earlier in the day.

A fifth defeat in six means Gary O’Neil’s Wolves remain bottom of the table by one point despite their valiant efforts. But after Liverpool’s fifth win in six games under their new manager, tensions will be rising. It is now the Reds who are leading the way.

Wolves started brightly, surprisingly dominating possession in the early stages as they appeared to confirm Slot’s pre-match claim that they were a better team than their position suggested, but as the first half wore on the superior quality began to become apparent make.

Dominik Szoboszlai was denied from close range by Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, but Liverpool didn’t have to wait long for the opening goal: Diogo Jota, who was sick because of Darwin Nunez and was playing against his former club, crossed to Konate.

Salah should have doubled Liverpool’s lead early in the second half when he capitalized on a pass from Mario Lemina only to shoot wide. Things threatened to be costly when Ait-Nouri equalized on the counter-break, but the equalizer was brief.

Nelson Semedo was caught on the wrong side of Jota and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot, while Salah took the wind out of Wolves’ sails by coolly converting. The game remained level, but Liverpool took the points and took the lead. Wolves stay down.

Player of the game: Ryan Gravenberch

He may be nominally the defensive midfielder in Liverpool’s lineup, but that doesn’t do justice to what Ryan Gravenberch has done for the team so far this season. His powerful running gives this position dynamism and thrives in slot.

Gravenberch not only made more tackles than any other Liverpool player, but also completed 92 percent of his 62 passes. Fully rested after defeating West Ham in the Carabao Cup midweek, his growing importance to this team is now evident.

“He’s very comfortable on the ball,” Slot said Sky Sports afterward. “With him and (Alexis) Mac Allister, it helps if you want the ball. Both of them can also walk. He does a good job without the ball and that surprised me because I know him from the Dutch league. Jürgen (Klopp) did a really good job.

Slot: We have a lot to prove

Liverpool Boss Arne Slot speak with Sky Sports:

“In the long term you have to look at performance. I don’t think we started well but you have to give Wolves credit.”

“They heavily overloaded our right side with a lot of players. That’s why it was difficult at the beginning, but we came out much better in the second half. The energy and intensity was much higher than the first 15 minutes.”

“I saw the first goal and what stands out is the patience we have. In general we were much more patient.”

On Liverpool’s title chances this season…

“Preseason preparation helped. The players started believing. We have a lot to prove when we face the top teams. It’s good that we are where we are at the moment.”

“I always try to stay realistic, Jürgen’s work was fantastic. We have to prove that we can do it in the Champions League and the Premier League.”

O’Neil: We got carried away

Wolves Boss Gary O’Neil speak with Sky Sports:

“The boys gave everything and we had the right start. We lost control and went off the game plan when we scored – caught up in the emotion of the equalizer, we were punished severely.”

“It’s another game against a strong opponent where we were ourselves – we gave our best.”

“A disappointment for the boys as they have earned something in the last few weeks against strong opponents, but there are a lot of things I love.”

“It shouldn’t be hectic and open against Liverpool. We got carried away and opened up the game too much, but apart from that there were lots of good moments.”

“It’s hard to take and nobody wants that, but if we keep going and giving it our all like we do, we’re going to cause problems for some teams this year. Everyone in the locker room gives everything and does their best.”

Does Wolves need patience?

The Wolves always knew this was a daunting start, having faced five of last season’s top seven in their first half dozen games. The only other game was at Nottingham Forest, where they picked up their only point so far. It’s the context behind their poor form.

Home fans still chanted O’Neil’s name during the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Molineux, but some are restless, frustrated by the lack of a replacement for Max Kilman and feeling the club is going in the wrong direction.

The key for O’Neil will be making sure his players see things differently. Even in this run from one point out of a possible 18, there were signs of quality. Wolves’ hard-working midfield is impressive, while they also have entertainers in Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha.

If they stick together, there will be more winnable games and they’re far from done. When the negativity starts to take hold, things could turn out very differently. The problem for O’Neil is that things could get worse before they get better. Next up at Molineux? Manchester City.

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