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Liverpool produced a superb second-half fightback to battle their way from 1-0 down against Wolves to beat Gary O'Neil's side 3-1 at Molineux.
The Reds went behind after just seven minutes in the Premier League's Saturday lunchtime kick-off, with Hwang Hee-Chan capitalising on some poor defending from Liverpool's backline to open the scoring for Wolves. The hosts had chances to add another to double their lead, but some poor finishing from Wolves' Matheus Cunha saw them go in at the break just 1-0 up.
However, after the break, the game was a different story. Liverpool equalised through Cody Gakpo on 55 minutes, and then managed to take the lead on 85 minutes through stand-in skipper Andy Robertson. Then, a deflected Harvey Elliot strike in injury-time saw Liverpool add a third through an own goal.
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And here are three things Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will have learnt, and been impressed by in Liverpool's come from behind win at Molineux…
A much improved second half performance
In the first half, Liverpool looked sluggish and way off the pace against Wolves, who were comfortably the better side in the opening 45. However, after the break, the Reds were far the better.
Changes at half-time saw Alexis Mac Allister taken off for Luiz Diaz, while Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliot came on for Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo, who scored Liverpool's equaliser, shortly after.
What did you make of Liverpool's performance against Wolves? Let us know in the comments section below.
And the changes worked to excellent effect, with Liverpool looking far more like themselves in the second half, which culminated in them scoring three goals after the break to put Wolves to the sword, and send the Reds top of the Premier League.
Look for January defensive additions
While it's true Liverpool were missing Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold against Wolves, the fact of the matter if the Reds cannot afford to not address their lack of quality defensive depth.
With van Dijk out due to suspension, Joel Matip and Jarrell Quansah, who performed admirably, started at centre-back for the Reds, with Joe Gomez moving over to right back to cover Alexander-Arnold.
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Gomez endured a torrid time in the first-half and was given a tough test by Pedro Neto who shone for Wolves. With Liverpool's current squad make-up, Gomez usually deputises for Alexander-Arnold should the latter be unavailable – with the drop off in quality clear for all to see.
If Liverpool want to push for titles this term, they must look at improving their defensive ranks in January. They have all the firepower in the world going forward, but at the back, a couple of injuries and they're tested to their limits.
Start games better
So far this season through five games, Liverpool have gone behind first in three of those fixtures. Against Bournemouth, they went behind after three minutes, but went on to beat the Cherries 3-1 at Anfield.
Then, against Newcastle United, they went a 1-0 down on 25 minutes, and lost van Dijk to a sending off minutes later. Thankfully, like they did against Bournemouth, they fought back, winning in stunning fashion against the Magpies 2-1.
Then against Wolves, they started sluggish once again. On seven minutes, Wolves opened the scoring through Hwang Hee-Chan, following wave after wave of pressure from Gary O'Neil's side.
While they did manage to find a way to win the game with a much better second half performance, the Reds cannot afford to continue these slow starts, as eventually, it will catch up with them at some point.
- Liverpool FC
- Jurgen Klopp
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