Ibrahima Konate scored his first Premier League goal and Mohamed Salah slammed home a penalty as Liverpool beat Wolves 2-1 on Saturday at the Molineux Stadium to go top of the league.
[ MORE: Current Premier League table ]
Rayan Ait-Nouri scored for Wolves, who were level for barely more than a minute and remain bottom of the Premier League. Wolves have one point from six matches.
The Reds move onto 15 points, one more than Manchester City and Arsenal and two clear of Chelsea.
Solid Reds don’t need their best to win
Liverpool weren’t bad on Saturday aside from an Ibrahima Konate error that led to a confused concession for Wolves, but surely any Reds player would tell you they weren’t not firing on all cylinders. Luis Diaz, perhaps the star of the season so far, was quiet and the first sub. Alisson looked rusty (and beardless). Virgil van Dijk was fine but a bit leggy. But Arne Slot’s men still held control for most of the game, attacked the box through Andy Robertson and Konate to go ahead, and quickly responded to going level by finding a penalty in the Wolves box. Liverpool are first on the table and they deserve it even if Slot has mentioned a tame schedule to start the season (a little dig at Man United to boot). That changes soon with Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, and Aston Villa fixtures with cups sprinkled between coming out of the October international break. First place now isn’t about first, but top-four insulation. And first place is, obviously, first place. Never a bad thing.
Wolves vs Liverpool player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Wolves vs Liverpool player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Wolves vs Liverpool player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Liverpool host Bologna on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, then visit Crystal Palace early Saturday (7:30am ET).
Wolves are off until a 10am Saturday visit to Brentford.
How to watch Wolves vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30pm ET Saturday (September 28)
Venue: Molineux, Wolverhampton
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live online via NBC.com
Wolves vs Liverpool live updates — By Nick Mendola
Wolves vs Liverpool final score: 1-2
Ibrahima Konate 45+2', Rayan Ait-Nouri 57', Mohamed Salah 61'
Konate at the center of it all
Carlos Forbs looks like he’s cooked Konate, but the French defender makes a desperation block just inside the six.
Whether good — at both ends — or bad in his own on occasion, Konate is at the heart of this game’s story.
Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones come on for Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz, the latter of whom was quite quiet.
Jota wins penalty — Wolves 1-2 Liverpool (61st minute)
Liverpool send a cross into the box and Nelson Semedo’s bid to stop Diogo Jota from winning a penalty allows the Portuguese to hit the turf.
Anthony Taylor points to the spot. Mohamed Salah bangs home the penalty.
Shambles from the Reds — Wolves 1-1 Liverpool (57th minute)
Jorgen Strand Larsen races into the box but is slowed by a sliding Andy Robertson challenge.
Konate thinks the ball is bounding out of play but Strand Larsen charges through his block and saves the ball on the end line.
The ball is sent back into the mix and Liverpool don’t deal with it. Rayan Ait-Nouri belts it home.
1-1.
Salah lets Lemina off the hook
Mario Lemina takes a short pass from Johnstone and plays it blindly across his box.
Mohamed Salah has to hit it first touch toward goal but skewers it wide of the gaping frame.
Still 1-0 early in the second half as Johnstone has to save Andy Robertson from close range.
Halftime — Wolves 0-1 Liverpool
Wolves have to go for it now.
Liverpool played at midweek and will play Wednesday versus Bologna.
There’s no reason not to open it up a bit at home, and that could lead to just about any score line.
Thomas Doyle and Hee-chan Hwang are among the options on the bench.
Ibrahima Konate’s first Premier League goal — Wolves 0-1 Liverpool (45+2')
The match entered stoppage time having seen just one big chance from 45 minutes, and Wolves would’ve been fine with the fact that it wasn’t theirs because Liverpool had been otherwise toothless.
A total of 0.25 expected goals between the sides, no more.
Diogo Jota spins a high invitation to the heart of the box, and Ibrahima Konate gets high to power a header through the glove of Johnstone.
Brilliant Johnstone denies Szoboszlai
Mohamed Salah spots Andy Robertson on the right, and the Scottish back whips a tremendous invitation to the heart of the six.
Dominik Szoboszlai meets it but Johnstone keeps his plant leg firm to deny the Hungarian’s low effort.
Terrific chance. Better save. 41'.
Liverpool get dangerous free kick
Andre tackles the ball and Alexis Mac Allister gets there late but ends up the worse for wear and Liverpool have a free kick from a few years outside the 18.
Three stand around it, and Mohamed Salah touches it right for a Trent Alexander-Arnold rip that is collected by Sam Johnstone.
32'.
Wolves up for fight as Liverpool disjointed in final third
A short-played corner for Liverpool that ended without a sniff of danger shows the first 20 minutes in a nutshell.
The Reds have been the better team but the chances are far from cutting-edge, and Wolves have done some decent things in short spells with the ball.
Ibrahima Konate ends Wolves’ latest threat as it’s 0-0 in the 22nd minute.
Wolves lineup
Johnstone, Semedo, Bueno, T. Gomes, Ait-Nouri, Andre, J. Gomes, Lemina, Bellegarde, Cunha, Strand Larsen
Liverpool lineup
Alisson, Robertson, Konate, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Salah, Diaz, Jota
Wolves focus, team news
Injury issues are starting to pile up for Wolves, with Colombian center back Yerson Mosquera ruled out for the rest of the season with the serious knee injury he picked up at Villa. Toti Gomes is a doubt for this one, while Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Medina and Boubacar Traore all remain out. Wolves look strong in midfield with Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes doing their best to hold things together, while new striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is a threat up top and he’s linked up well with Matheus Cunha. Hwang Hee-chan, Pablo Sarabia and Carlos Forbs are all pushing for minutes as Wolves aim to get things going in attack.
Liverpool focus, team news
Harvey Elliott is definitely out for Liverpool, while Alisson is working his way back to fitness after a thigh injury and could be available. Slot will probably start Salah, Diaz and Nunez up top given how well that worked against Bournemouth last weekend, but Gakpo and Jota are pushing hard for a start. Ryan Gravenberch has given Liverpool extra control in midfield, while the play of Dominik Szoboszlai has also been a huge part in Liverpool looking so dangerous when things click in the final third.
Wolves vs Liverpool prediction
This feels like Wolves will come flying out of the traps but then run out of steam and Liverpool will pick them off with their host of attacking talents causing chaos. Wolves 1-3 Liverpool.
