Wolves Fans' Verdict v Liverpool: We were robbed!

Clive Smith

With a defence that included Sarkic,Toti and Lembikisa it was no wonder we started the game nervously. Add Hodge and Ait-Nouri in midfield and it shows how far we have drifted from the old regime of last season.

They grew in confidence though and it felt like the coming of age for Hodge and Lembikisa. How must they have felt about their performances after playing so well at Anfield.

In fact, as the game wore on, it looked more like the Nuno days of finishing seventh. We were comfortable without the ball, holding our shape, protecting our keeper and winning key tackles and headers. Sure, two glaring mistakes led to conceded goals but we lack experience and Coady and Saiss also made mistakes in their heyday.

For the second game running we looked a very different side from earlier in the season. We looked to have more pace going forward and far more positives to take away.

Going behind was a real kick in the teeth but we bounced back in outstanding fashion. Lopetegui again shuffling the pack bringing reward with a goalscoring sub.

Unfortunately there were two negative points to reflect on. The form of Raul shows no sign of improvement. Twice he was in a perfect position where a Premier League striker should be scoring or forcing the keeper to make an unbelievable save. His reaction time and his strength are just not the same as they used to be. He plays like he knows it himself. His petulant and sometimes unforgiving side seems to be always close to the surface. It is sad to see. We loved Raul and what he brought to the team. The days of ‘pace in attack’ with Jota and Jimenez, those were happy days my friend.

The sour note of course was the officiating.

I know I (we) are not looking through impartial gold and black spectacles, but... Following on from the United game just a week ago it sure feels like we are not on a level playing field when up against the so-called bigget clubs. Time and time again the benchmark for a foul, a booking and the tolerance level for bad behaviour is unevenly stacked against us.

Taking the Wolves spec’s off though, as a neutral it is clear to see the apparent similar injustice in other games. An out of control Haaland challenge, a nasty Casemiro foul, a Dan Burn shirt pull, a Thiago rugby tackle.. the list is endless.

I always have some sympathy for refs, they go on the pitch with 22 players looking for every edge so it must be difficult, but their decisions sure do leave a nasty taste in the mouth.

As for the decisions around the goals and non-goal, hey I was in the ground so how on earth do I know what happened? I remember Neto’s first Wolves goal being chalked off at Anfield, now it was Toti’s turn.

Let’s not end there though, but instead, with my lasting positive takeaway was of a team and a performance to be proud of. Proud to be a Wolves fan. Enjoyed that.

Rob Cartwright

Wolves were robbed. Despite nine changes they deservedly won this game 3-1. Salah was offside. Toti and Nunes were not offside. Simple as that.

The officials in the (so called) Premier League are absolutely disgraceful. Time and time again results are affected by decisions like these. It makes you question why bother with all the time and expense involved in following your team.

A draw was the last thing we needed. How many times have VAR changed the course of our games against Liverpool?

It’s beyond all comprehension. No joke!

After a shaky start to the game, we quickly found our feet and realised Liverpool are not as good as the press would make you believe.

We started to get hold of the ball and play into the forward channels, after around ten minutes. It was clear who was winning the battle of the coaches with Lopetegui coming out on top.

Admittedly, we were gifted a goal, on 26 minutes, with Alisson offering Guedes an open goal. This gave Wolves the confidence and belief to take the game to Liverpool. We were well on top for the remainder of the first half, only for us to reciprocate and present Liverpool with their equaliser courtesy of a Collins howler by giving the ball away to initiate the classic counter attack.

This was unfortunate for Collins who was excellent both before and after this incident. He got itv man of the match award and rightly so.

Liverpool came out of the blocks fast for the second half. We hadn’t really settled when Salah scored. He was clearly offside, as was his teammate on the left wing!

Toti had to attempt a header, as he knew Salah was behind him. What a ridiculous rule that we hardly ever see enforced by officials.

Ait-Nouri had a great chance, one on one with the keeper but shot straight at Alisson.

Lopetegui made three subs n the hour and they made a dramatic impact. Within a few minutes Hwang and Cunha combined to magic up an equaliser. Wolves had the wind in their sails now.

Alt Nouri had to go off with an injury which is a concern for Wednesday.

As time was running out, Toti scored a fabulous goal, following a corner. Everyone thought this was the winner, until the referee inexplicably instructed his assistant to raise his flag. Contrary to all the debate, the Assistant did not flag for offside. He flagged as he was told to by the referee. We were robbed.

Later, Robertson appeared to stamp Adama - no interest from VAR here. Surely a red card.

This was a very good performance by Wolves. The early signs of Lopetegui’s impact are extremely good. 9 changes to the starting team and those coming in were just fine. This reminded me of Nuno’s early reign.

I’m still absolutely fuming. VAR has ruined the beautiful game.

Adam Virgo

A fantastic performance that deserved everyone talking about a second string Wolves side coming back from 2-1 down at Anfield to win 3-2 but sadly we now have to play a replay because the camera used by VAR couldn’t see all of the pitch, absolutely ludicrous.

That performance was everything we could have dreamt of, when I saw the line-ups I didn’t think we stood much chance but credit to Lopetegui, the players and everyone else involved for how we approached it.

Under Lopetegui we are constantly improving and it’s actually enjoyable to follow Wolves home and away again, it feels like we’re slowly getting our identity back. I know Liverpool haven’t been great this season but it’s not like Anfield is an easy place to go to, especially against their strongest side available when we made nine changes.

I’ve hugely criticised Guedes along with a lot of fans, which has been deserved but he played so much better than we’re used to, his goal was gifted to him but the fact he was pressing high up and trying to force an error, he was a lot less lazy than I’ve been used to seeing.

A lot of the players who looked really poor before Lopetegui came in all of a sudden look a lot better too which goes to show how important having a good manager is, even behind the scenes it’s going to be so much better and enjoyable for the players and you can tell from what we’re seeing on the pitch.

It was frustrating to give away really easy goals, although Salah’s should have been offside. At 2-1 I didn’t know if we’d have enough to get back in the game but we did brilliantly for the equaliser.

Special mentions to Nunes and Ait Nouri who were incredible. Nunes changed the game massively when he came on, Liverpool couldn’t deal with him and the way he can get out of tight situations and drive with the ball is scary, it’s just a shame he was played in the wrong position completely before Lopetegui came in.

Ait Nouri is so effective in an attacking role because he can help you double up when you need to defend and when he has the ball he’s got so much skill and flair. The way he darts in and out past players is a joy to watch and I really hope Wolves don’t get rid of him because he’s got all the traits to be a future superstar.

Focus now turns to Wednesday and how great would it be to win and progress to the semi finals of the Carabao Cup. I’ve got so much faith in Lopetegui, based on what I’ve seen so far I feel like we’ll comfortably stay up and having a nice cup run along the way is always nice, maybe both cups if we’re lucky.

John Lalley

There’s little point in getting the hump; no system is infallible and VAR will continue to be flawed for as long as it operates. The administrators have tinkered with the laws of the game to accommodate VAR instead of shaping the system to suit the game. Truly, the tail really is wagging the dog. The ludicrous delays in flagging players like Salah who drift offside remains one of several inexplicable anomalies But, it’s here to stay and it demonstrably has its role but for spectators of all clubs, the system has been hugely detrimental in terms of spontaneity and enjoyment.

Football is a stimulus, a sharp visceral experience, a pull on the emotions and the heartstrings and VAR is the ultimate passion killer. Withdrawal symptoms and cold turkey; like the dregs of a thumping hangover. We won’t be liberating ourselves from the constraints of Stockley Park; sometimes it works, occasionally it’s an abomination and for better or worse, we’re stuck with it.

It was a perk to see Julen Lopetegui registering his concerns in a civilised and dignified manner. A number of his more volatile contemporaries could do worse than take note. Frustrations aside, Lopetegui must have been delighted with the response of his players. A scratch Wolves team faced down a powerful Liverpool outfit who were desperate to win this game and restore their sense of credibility.

We haven’t totally dispensed with our propensity for costly individual clangers, but already under the new coach, Wolves appear a better organized, more energetic and purposeful outfit, less inclined to be passive and more determined to be competitive. As pleasing as anything on show at Anfield, was that Wolves at long last carried a genuine aura of potency on the offensive.

Sure, Alisson Becker’s keeping clangers gave us a helping hand, but Wolves offered the kind of attacking impetus that has been virtually non-existent so far this season. Just to enjoy this sense of anticipation again after such a barren run was exhilarating in itself.

Pulling the strings after his belated arrival was again the rejuvenated Matheus Nunes. We are just seeing the beginnings of this guy’s potential and no doubt he will flatter to deceive sometimes, but clearly he has an expanse of skills unseen at Molineux for a long time.

Come the end of this campaign, the result here and the eccentricities of VAR over ninety minutes probably won’t register more than passing interest. But this alongside recent performances surely give cause for renewed if still cautious optimism.

We remain facing a daunting task, but encouragingly we seem to have acquired a direction and a structure under Lopetegui that might just see us survive. This much is clear enough; no need for a visit to the VAR bunker for any long-winded clarification!

Fraser Bishop

With a battle for survival ahead and a quarter final of the League cup on the horizon, Saturday’s game didn’t feel all that important; until it kicked off that was and then naturally you want Wolves to win every game.

With the Forest game in mind, Lopetegui was right to make as many changes as he did but when the lineups came out, I feared the worst seeing the likes of Salah, Allison, Trent etc.

However, I was very impressed by the performance from our heavily rotated team, with Lembikisa coping well on his debut, Collins deservedly getting MOTM and Guedes marking a rare start with a goal - even if it was a gift.

I do agree with the points people have made with the offside rule regarding their second, Salah clearly interferes with play so it is dubious, however if Toti heads the ball away properly that goal doesn’t happen anyway.

That being said, we should be sat here talking about how he went on to score the winner and settle a dramatic cup tie, but to the frustration of everyone, it wasn’t to be. I think we are definitely within our rights to feel hard done by and now we will have to do it all again with an extra game, however on the plus side, there are plenty of positives to take after a commendable performance at Anfield where we looked threatening and again demonstrated how we are improving game by game.

James Pugh

It really feels like everything has gone against Wolves this season and that fixture was a shining example of that. However, unlike some of the other displays, there are plenty of positives to take away and it really feels like this could be the result that kickstarts the season. Watching that gave me a similar feeling to beating Spurs in the cup last year, and the controversial result should really give the players something to feel optimistic about. The fact that we can drop half the first team and still play a full strength Liverpool side off the park shows that Julen is a manager the players are getting behind.

Some great positives to talk about. The young’uns Lembikisa had a great game and Hodge held the ball up well. At least with an additional game at the Molinuex we may see the pair in for a starting run out. Guedes is also starting to look like the big money signing he was hyped up to be and is improving each game. Collins, Ait-Nouri and Toti were unlucky but overall had fantastic games. Not much Sarkic could have done for the Liverpool goals.

In terms of negatives, it’s quite hard to pick out individuals considering what the result should have been. If I had to try, I guess I didn’t really understand why Costa was so far ahead in the pecking order but Jimenez looks a shadow of his former self. Hopefully this is just a small blip as he gets back to full fitness.

In summary, if this is how good our 2nd team is, there is no way this lot are going down.

Chris Ward

Its clear to see Julen has already had a huge impact on this Wolves side. The confidence in the players is returning and the energy in the performances is increasing game by game.

After seeing the strength of the Liverpool side I can’t say I was expecting us to get much out of the game but it seemed some of the fringe players had a point to prove. The side worked hard and hat the bit between their teeth from the off and really troubled a near full strength Liverpool side.

After the red mist had cleared from the farcical aspects of VAR and the incompetence of the match officials you can appreciate how well Wolves played and how disappointing it is not to come away from Anfield with the win.

The demise of Raul is very saddening. He is a shadow of his former self and its only a matter of time before he is moved on. Raul was probably the only player to have offered very little in what was a wonderful Wolves performance.

Its hard to pick out a top performer as the whole team worked so hard however the Nunes cameo finally showed us what quality he really does poses and hopefully now we see the best of him in a Wolves shirt.

This team in improving game by game, as long as Julen keeps us up this season I believe we have plenty to be excited about the season after.