Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool team are under even more pressure after the 2019-20 Premier League champions suffered a debilitating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton on Sunday. An own goal by Joel Matip, followed by strikes from Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves added injury to insult for the beleaguered Reds, who are languishing in 10th place in the points table.
The Reds' bid for a first Premier League victory in 2023 never got going as debutant Dawson followed up Joel Matip's bizarre own goal to put Wolves firmly in control within 12 minutes. Klopp's team enjoyed plenty of possession after the break, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed with 19 minutes left as Neves capped a swift break to put Wolves 3-0 up.
"You're getting sacked in the morning," the Wolves fans were heard chanting as the home side moved out of the relegation zone with the win.
It was an important victory for the Wolves, who avenged January's FA Cup exit against the same opponents. Wolves claimed a huge three points in their bid to avoid relegation, leaving the club in crisis winless in four league matches.
Wolves needed just five minutes to breach a Liverpool defence bereft of confidence, as Hwang Hee-chan's cut-back spun off Matip and against the post before crossing the goal line.
Rocked by that goal, Liverpool fell further behind seven minutes later when Joe Gomez inexplicably headed Matheus Cunha's cross away from Alisson's grasp, allowing Dawson to fire high into the net from close range.
Jose Sa denied Darwin Nunez with a one-on-one save two minutes later, but Liverpool were fortunate to reach half-time 2-0 down as Matheus Nunes broke clear to draw a similar stop from Alisson.
Max Kilman cleared off the line amid a goalmouth scramble as Liverpool looked to respond after the break before Mohamed Salah bent an effort narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner.
Sa made another huge save from Nunez's low strike as Wolves sat deep to defend their lead, but Julen Lopetegui's men made the points safe when Adama Traore broke clear to tee up Neves for a neat left-footed finish.
(With Opta Inputs)
