Awesome four-some as Liverpool coast past Wolves.
On an ice-cold night, an ice-cool Champions performance in front of 2000 fans in the Kop saw Liverpool ease past Wolverhampton Wanderers in a fixture which made the Reds stretch every sinew last season.
Wolves arrived at Anfield without the commitment of European football, a sound footballing philosophy articulated by their insightful manager and a squad which is now firmly part of the Premier League establishment. They had shown an ability to beat any team in this league and last season the Reds defeated them by single goal margins in tightly contested matches.
The 4-0 victory was testament to the character of the current, injury-ravaged squad. Goals by Mo Salah, Gini Wijnaldum, Joel Matip and an OG by Nelson Semedo saw the Reds win easily.
At 1-0, a ‘penalty’ for Wolves which was subsequently and correctly erased by the referee following a VAR review, incensed the team with skipper Jordan Henderson leading the charge against Conor Coady after his fall having not been touched by Mané. Coady had a night to forget having been culpable for Salah’s goal too.
This was a night of immense and impressive performances across the team. The principal performer was the ‘Tartan Titan’ Andy Robertson, whose energy and steel up and down the pitch yet again demonstrated that he has to be one of the best pound-for-pound purchases in our history.
Neco Williams, who picked up an early yellow card, matured into the game and between the two full-backs, the dangerous Adama Traore was largely kept quiet. The centre back partnership was assured once again, a faulty shirt didn’t distract from faultless Caoimhin Kelleher who recorded another shut out and Curtis Jones was outstanding with exceptional link up and holding play.
Jurgen Klopp’s fist pumps and heart beating after the whistle was a long time coming and the presence of fans in the Kop was heart-warming.
Before kick-off, and in contrast to developments in South London, the Kop demonstrated its support for efforts to tackle hate and bigotry in football. We Are Liverpool – This Means More.
Riaz Ravat is a member of Liverpool FC’s Equality & Diversity Fan Forum. He writes in a personal capacity.