Liverpool claimed a precious three points as they beat Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The Reds secured a 2-0 victory over Wolves at Anfield to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive. Second half goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah saw Liverpool get the win, to move up to sixth place in the Premier League table.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have now kept four consecutive clean sheets in the top flight following the win over Wolves. Liverpool are now six points adrift of the top four places and have a game in hand over fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
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Plenty of national media outlets were in attendance to watch Liverpool’s win over Wolves. Here is a round-up of what they had to say.
Ian Ladyman, via the Mail Online
“It shows how far Liverpool's aspirations have narrowed this season that they cheered Arsenal's half-time lead over Everton when it was read out at the interval here.
“These days it matters less that the Premier League leaders are winning and more that the local rivals are not. For Jurgen Klopp and his players, fourth place is the height of their ambition this season and they remain outsiders even for that.
“But it's still a possibility after this rather anxious but ultimately deserved victory and for that they have a right shoulder and a right thigh to thank. They may not be enough to completely turn around this season for Liverpool but they turned around this game and for now that feels like more than enough.
“With 17 minutes remaining Liverpool did not look winning this game. Darwin Nunez had just seen a goal ruled out by VAR and as Manchester United rallied down the road in the FA Cup at Old Trafford, Sunday's meeting here with the old enemy was starting to feel like one of those behind the sofa occasions for the home support.
“But when Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a free-kick from the left in the 73rd minute, Virgil van Dijk rose to meet it. The defender missed the ball with his head but it cannoned off his shoulder towards goal. Jose Sa saved but when Diogo Jota returned the ball, Van Dijk headed in conventionally and his team were in the lead.”
Andy Hunter, via The Guardian
“A little push was what Jürgen Klopp ordered, and a little push is what Liverpool gave their season.
“Wolves were a test of Anfield’s patience yet again but late goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah eventually ended their resistance to take Klopp’s team to within six points of fourth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand.
“With Manchester United due on Sunday, and Wolves embolded by their 3-0 win over Liverpool at Molineux only last month, Klopp viewed this as a critical week for any hope of securing Champions League qualification with a late flourish to the season.
“In that sense the first step was accomplished with something to spare. Liverpool were far from dominant but, after Darwin Núñez had a goal disallowed courtesy of VAR, a strong finish saw them eclipse Wolves and claim three deserving points.”
Carl Markham, via The Independent
“Mohamed Salah maintained his record of scoring at least 20 a season every year at Liverpool as his goal helped secure a 2-0 win over Wolves which edged them closer to the Premier League’s top four.
“The Egypt international turned home Kostas Tsimikas’s 77th-minute cross to double the lead given to them by Virgil van Dijk’s close-range header moments earlier for his 127th league goal for the club.
“It put him one behind Robbie Fowler, who is sixth on the Reds’ all-time league scorers list, and secured a hard-fought victory that took their tally to 10 points from the last 12 and moved them within two wins of fourth-placed Tottenham with a match in hand.
“Goals from Liverpool’s two most experienced players on the pitch maintained their momentum which had been in danger of stalling after Saturday’s disappointing goalless draw at Crystal Palace.”
Paul Joyce, via The Times
“Virgil van Dijk had spent the start of the week standing alongside Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé at Fifa’s The Best awards in Paris. Last night, he served notice of Liverpool’s determination to ensure they are rubbing shoulders with the cream of European football again next season.
“The tensions around what had become a testing assignment for Jürgen Klopp’s side were finally lanced when the centre back dispatched the second of two headers to snap the spirited resistance of Wolverhampton Wanderers. It allowed what the Liverpool manager had described as “super important week” in their pursuit of a top-four place to begin in confidence-boosting fashion with their all-round performance much improved and deserving victory. This will have been far more to Klopp’s liking.
"Mohamed Salah added a second four minutes later to register 20 goals for the campaign, the first Liverpool player to reach that mark in six successive seasons since Ian Rush in the 1980s.
“Liverpool will head into Sunday’s showdown with Manchester United in their best form of the season, not including a four-match winning run in the Premier League which fell either side of the break for the World Cup.
“Ten points from 12, and four clean sheets, has lifted them into sixth place, six points behind Tottenham Hotspur but with a game in hand, and the snap, crackle and pop which used to define them was evident for longer periods.”
Chris Bascombe, via The Telegraph
“Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are on a mission. In a season of misery, their Champions League banishment would be a step too far.
“Scrutinised for the first time in their Liverpool career, the duo have three months in which to ensure their club’s deterioration is a brief aberration. The goals which preserved Jürgen Klopp’s hopes of finishing in the top four were arguably their most timely contributions of an erratic season.
“Van Dijk has had a particularly odd time, culminating in an eyebrow-raising epidemic earlier this week because his peers still consider him one of the world’s best centre-halves, the Dutchman named in Fifa's Best World XI.
“The rock upon which Liverpool’s quadruple bid a year ago was built has occasionally crumbled, but amid all the doubts expressed about the longevity of his senior players, Klopp has remained steadfast in his belief Van Dijk and Salah will be back to themselves soon enough. This was a reassuring sign as Van Dijk looked more steady at the back alongside the much-missed Ibrahima Konaté, while cracking the code in the opposing penalty area as Liverpool desperately sought the opening goal.
“Van Dijk’s recent problems may be a consequence of too much football and wear and tear.
Salah, meanwhile, has continued to score regularly without hitting previous peaks. With the goal which effectively finished off Wolves, the Egyptian is just one short of Robbie Fowler’s Premier League tally for Liverpool.
“Given the season he is having, Klopp won’t be surprised how often he and his players have been thrown to the Wolves.”
Paul Gorst, via the Liverpool Echo
“In a season where precious little can be taken for granted at Liverpool, this was at least a welcome slice of the routine at Anfield.
“Victory at home against a relegation-threatened team has not always been a given for Jurgen Klopp this term but this 2-0 win over Wolves had something of a mundane, ordinary quality that will have delighted the Reds boss no end.
“The smile on his face as he made a beeline for all of his players at full-time revealed as much. As did the kiss he blew to the Kop, in fact. That was about as celebratory and demonstrative as Klopp got before he quietly disappeared down the tunnel. He knows the famous fist-bumping routine can be saved for more glamorous, high-profile achievements. Slowly but surely, this is a team finding its feet and emerging from the doldrums.
“Having moved from eighth to seventh to sixth in the last few days, Liverpool's progress has been incremental in recent weeks and having now collected 10 points from the last 12 on offer after that horrendous afternoon at Molineux last month, the Reds are starting to look upwards with some real purpose and intent. Four consecutive clean sheets also hints at a side who have regained their spine, perhaps at the most opportune of periods.
“With another game-in-hand to be played at Chelsea on April 4 and fourth-place Tottenham still to come at Anfield later that month, the Reds remain firmly in the hunt. For a team that has taken 57 points from the last 72 on offer between the months of March and May in 2021 and 2022, the omens and form guides are positive ones, if nothing else. A similar return will be needed to secure Champions League football for next season.”
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