Liverpool put in yet another poor display as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Wolves at Anfield in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night.
In an error-strewn performance, the Reds had only themselves to blame for falling behind as Alisson Becker kicked the ball straight to Goncalo Guedes, gifting him with an easy tap-in. And while strikes from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah either side of half-time would see Liverpool turn the game on its head, another defensive error led to Hwang Hee-chan’s equaliser to set up a replay.
Consider Toti’s late strike controversially ruled out for offside, with VAR unable to intervene due to not possess the right camera angle, and the Reds are rather fortunate to be in the FA Cup fourth round draw. Given Jurgen Klopp named his strongest available XI, handing Cody Gakpo a debut, this was not the sort of performance he had in mind.
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But you already know all that. Away from the main action, here’s what you might have missed…
Andy Robertson fumes with Alisson Becker
In what has been a poor Liverpool season so far, Alisson Becker has easily been the Reds’ best player. Yet he put in his worst performance of the campaign against Wolves, with the only blessing being it hasn’t cost them anything other than now having to take part in an FA Cup replay.
It was the Brazilian’s dawdling on the ball and subsequent poor kick straight to Guedes that led to Wolves’ opener. For so long Mr. Reliable, here he was anything but.
Andy Robertson would have heated words with the goalkeeper during a break in play in the 37th minute as Jordan Henderson received treatment. Seven minutes later, the Scot would flip his lid entirely.
With Wolves putting pressure on Alisson at every opportunity following his error for the first goal, he overhit a lofted pass to Robertson in the 44th minute as it flew straight out of play. “F**k off!” was the furious left-back’s exasperated response.
Fortunately both were somewhat happier moments later following Darwin Nunez’s equaliser.
Klopp hold talks with Matip and Konate
Jurgen Klopp’s pre-match routine is well-known at this point, over seven years into his Liverpool career. While he’ll watch on as his team warm up, he always observes the opposition on the halfway line with a steely glare.
Yet against Wolves, he took a more hands on approach. With Virgil van Dijk out for a month with a hamstring injury, the German called over Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate for an on-field briefing.
The pair started at centre-back together for only the seventh time against the West Midlands outfit, and given Liverpool’s recent defensive woes, a final talk from Klopp for the new-look partnership was understandable.
Alas, it didn’t quite have the desired effect as the Reds struggled once more. But there were bright moments from both players defensively as they game went on. It looks like they’ll be starting together for the foreseeable, so fingers crossed this pairing blossoms fast.
Diogo Jota taunts
While Darwin Nunez was again taunted with chants of, ‘You’re just a s**t Andy Carroll!’ by opposing fans on Saturday night, Liverpool’s support had a rather different way to stick the knife into Wolves’ travelling fans.
In truth, Kopites haven’t had much to sing about recently after a succession of poor performances, and with the World Cup break falling before that. Considering Diogo Jota has been sidelined since the middle of October with a calf injury, they haven’t had much reason to chant his name either.
But inside 10 minutes, the Kop dusted off the Portuguese’s popular chant, with it no doubt not lost on them that even without the forward being available, they were locking horns with Jota’s former employers.
Considering Liverpool have long-term interest in current Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes, one wonders if the Reds will be singing the name of another Portuguese when they face the West Midlands outfit next season.
Classy Harvey Elliott gesture
Harvey Elliott has been on the receiving end of a fair bit of backlash from a certain section of the Liverpool fanbase in recent weeks in the face of Liverpool's poor performances. Admittedly not at his best against Brentford, he was taken off at half-time and then benched against Wolves.
But that didn’t phase the midfielder when he took to the pitch in place of Fabinho in the 75th minute as the teenager put in a lively enough cameo.
Meanwhile, he gifted his shirt to one lucky young supporter after the final, giving them a hug before pausing to pose for selfies with nearby fans. A boyhood Liverpool fan himself, Elliott always has time for Kopites.
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