Julen Lopetegui: Wolves' third goal at Anfield should have stood

With the game locked at 2-2, Toti Gomes flicked home a third which looked set to give Wolves a famous victory.

The linesman flagged it as offside and a VAR check did not overturn it, adjudging that Matheus Nunes was offside when his corner was headed back to him.

Since the incident, no camera angles have been provided to prove Nunes was offside, and Lopetegui and Ruben Neves both went in and spoke to the officials after the game.

Lopetegui said: “He tried to explain it to me but it was very clear.

“More or less I showed him that we think this goal was valid. Today we are unlucky with the decision and unlucky because we had a lot of chances to win this match.

“I am a little disappointed. In one way I am proud of the players, they deserved more today.

“Against a fantastic team we created a lot of chances and didn’t concede a lot of chances. It was a pity because we scored a third goal.

“I have seen it, I have to accept, but I’m sorry it’s not offside.

“We can’t do anything now. We have talked with the referee. He was very polite.

“It was a pity because today we have VAR. I have seen replays. He was polite to hear us. They can have a mistake, I have a mistake every day.”

Mo Salah’s second half goal, that gave Liverpool the lead, was also controversial as it showed limitations to the current law in the game.

Toti’s mistake saw him accidentally head the ball to Salah, who was in an offside position.

“This is another discussion,” said Lopetegui.

“The rule is the same in all the leagues. It’s a special situation, but if the player was offside – and he was very clearly by one metre – when the ball comes from his teammate, he takes advantage of this position, despite the ball coming off Toti.

“He took advantage and the interpretation was clear. In the end the goal was valid and our goal was offside. It’s a pity to talk about this today because of my team’s performance.”

Wolves made nine changes to their starting XI from the team that played at Villa on Wednesday.

Dexter Lembikisa came in for his first senior start, while several fringe players were given an opportunity to impress.

In what was a good performance from his side, Lopetegui was delighted with how those players acquitted themselves.

“We changed nine players because we thought it was the best line-up,” he said.

“We played three days ago and the rhthym that Liverpool demand is very high, so you have to be ready to beat this rhythm.

“That’s why we had a different line-up and it was a good challenge for them, with this kind of match.

“They have showed that they are ready to compete, which is good for us.”

Daniel Podence came off at half-time against Villa with a knock and did not travel to Anfield.

When asked if he will be ready for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final, Lopetegui said: “I don’t know, I can’t answer you.”

Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa also did not travel after picking up injuries, but Lopetegui could not reveal their issues or a timeline for their return.

He said: “We are going to see tomorrow how they are developing their injuries.”