Liverpool 4 Wolves 0 - Report
Wolves were well-beaten as Liverpool flexed their muscles upon the return of fans to win 4-0 and carry on their immense unbeaten streak at Anfield.
Looking to build on their heroics after Raul Jimenez's head injury at Arsenal, Nuno Espirito Santo's charges showed some flashes early on but were utterly outplayed in the second period.
Mo Salah, Gini Wijnaldum and Joel Matip netted in front of 2,000 delighted Reds fans before Nelson Semedo's own goal finished things off on a bad night.
Wolves – 10th in the Premier League table after 11 games – also saw a penalty rightly chalked off after Conor Coady went down in the box before half-time, and will now look to dust themselves down for more difficult games this month.
Analysis
There is always the danger of being given a hiding at Liverpool, but it was still a shock to see the second half end up so one-sided.
Despite entering the interval one down, they had caused the hosts a few problems in the first 45 – only a Coady mistake gifting them the lead.
Simply put, though, the Reds were far superior in all areas of the pitch after the break.
Without Jimenez, who it is great to hear has now returned home from hospital after having surgery for a fractured skull, Wolves did not have a proper presence up top.
Fabio Silva came on, but by then Nuno's lot were 2-0 down and he barely had a kick in his half an hour on the pitch.
Again, falling to a heavy defeat against the reigning top-flight champions was always a possibility, but there is a fair amount to work on ahead of facing Villa at Molineux.
They will need to be a lot better in attack, in midfield and in defence if they are to beat Dean Smith's men.
Match report
Nuno made just one change to the side which performed brilliantly for most of the Arsenal game, with Ruben Neves replacing Silva.
It meant Wolves – in the 4-3-3 formation again – had a fluid front three of Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Adama Traore, while Neves was the most advanced of the midfielders.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in attack, so former Molineux favourite Diogo Jota was among the substitutes.
In a classy display of unity and support, Wolves wore shirts with 'Raul, the pack is with you' on them for the warm-up.
They then donned the opinion-splitting blue and white away kit for the first time as they looked to test young Reds keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who was between the sticks in the absence of Alisson, early doors.
Nuno's pack made a decent start as well. Neto, almost straight away, was fouled in a dangerous area by Neco Williams, and the resulting free-kick from Neves grazed the roof of the net on its way over.
Liverpool, naturally, were seeing most of the ball, but skipper Coady was barking out instructions and Wolves had a good shape about them.
They looked threatening on the counter, too. Podence went for a delicate chip which, credit to him, was saved brilliantly on the stretch by Kelleher. Traore also skipped his way past Fabinho before unleashing a fierce cross that narrowly evaded Neto at the far post.
It was the hosts, though, who took the lead thanks to an error from Coady. He made a meal of Jordan Henderson's lofted pass – trying to chest the ball down – and Salah punished him, gratefully slotting past Rui Patricio.
That was met with a huge roar from those inside Anfield and the Reds, buoyed by that long-awaited support, continued to dominate possession.
Still, Wolves were having their moments. Neto, in particular, was lively and after playing a one-two with Joao Moutinho from a corner, he caused enough unrest with the cross to – briefly – win a penalty.
Referee Craig Pawson initially pointed to the spot after Sadio Mane appeared to catch Coady with an attempted clearance but, following the advice from the VAR to re-watch the incident on the pitchside monitor, reversed his decision. Ultimately, there was not enough contact and the final call was correct.
Wolves entered the second half very much in the game, but they were missing a focal point in attack – able to hold up play and properly allow others to surge upfield in support.
They did make some little tweaks in an attempt to freshen things up, with Neto and Traore switching flanks. However, they craved a more obvious target and it appeared just a matter of time until Silva's introduction.
Before that substitution was done, though, Liverpool doubled their advantage.
A quick break-away saw Henderson feed midfield partner Wijnaldum, and while he could have teed up Mane, he instead found the top corner with aplomb. The Dutchman's curler left Patricio with no chance of making the save and appeared to signal game over for Wolves.
Silva soon replaced Neves, but the club-record £35million signing found himself completely starved of service.
And the Reds, amid some noticeably poor Wolves defending, put the result beyond any doubt as they grabbed their third.
Salah was afforded far too much time and space after a short corner, and his cross was headed home by the unmarked Matip from point-blank range. Easy as you like.
At this point, Liverpool were purring and despite Nuno trying to shut up shop – bringing on Rayan Ait-Nouri for Podence and going five-at-the-back – they got a fourth before the end.
Semedo tried to stop Mane getting on the end of a low cross and did, but inadvertently knocked the ball into his own net.
The fact Jota did not rub salt into the wounds with a late goal acted as a slight crumb of comfort but, all being said, this was one to forget for Wolves.
Teams
Liverpool (4-3-3): Kelleher; N Williams (Alexander-Arnold 69); Matip, Fabinho, Robertson; Henderson (c) (Keita, 81), Wijnaldum, Jones; Salah, Firmino (Jota, 73) , Mane
Subs not used: Adrian (gk), Phillips, Tsimikas, Minamino
Goals: Salah (24), Wijnaldum (59), Matip (68), Semedo OG (78)
Wolves (4-3-3): Patricio; Semedo, Coady (c), Boly, Marcal; Dendoncker, Neves (Silva, 62), Moutinho; Traore, Podence (Ait-Nouri, 71), Neto (Vitinha, 79)
Subs not used: Ruddy (gk), Hoever, Kilman, Saiss
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Craig Pawson (Sheffield)
