Liverpool 2-1 Wolves: Match report & 3 talking points from tense Anfield duel | OneFootball

Liverpool saw off a second-half fightback to earn a 2-1 win over Wolves that moved them seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

The Reds looked set for a straightforward afternoon when they carved out a two-goal, first-half lead thanks to a bunded Luis Diaz finish and Mohamed Salah's penalty - his 23rd goal of another extraordinary individual Premier League season.

But Liverpool conceded to a wonderful Matheus Cunha strike midway through the second period and were faced with an onslaught that could so easily have ended in the visitors taking a deserved point.

How the game unfolded

Liverpool made a bright start to proceedings, and almost took the lead when Diogo Jota's left-footed volley from a clearance whistled just wide. Wolves did not hold firm for much longer, with a deflected Salah cross from the right falling fortuitously for Diaz, who diverted the ball home with his midrift with a quarter of an hour gone.

The Colombian was again at the heart of things as the Reds made it two, winning a penalty by nudging Emmanuel Agbadou out of the way before tempting Jose Sa to bring him down.

The Wolves defenders were not particularly happy with the award of the spot-kick, and were further aggrieved when Ibrahima Konate escaped a second yellow for coming in late on Cunha moments later.

That they had a point with the latter was underlined by Arne Slot choosing to withdraw Konate for Jarell Quansah at half-time.

Wolves, too, made changes, with Marshall Munetsi and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde taking the place of Goncalo Guedes and Pablo Sarabia in a bid to get the relegation-threatened Midlanders into the game.

Matheus Cunha's impressive finish got Wolves back into the game / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

And Vitor Pereira's decision almost paid instant dividends, with Munetsi sneaking in behind and only being denied a goal by a trademark sprawl from Alisson Becker.

With the visitors improving, Liverpool thought they had been given a golden opportunity to wrap things up when the referee pointed to the spot for an apparent Agbadou foul on Jota in the box. But replays showed almost no contact between the pair and, after a VAR review, the on-field decision was correctly overturned.

Wolves made the most of that let-off, with Cunha producing a beautiful left-footed curler into the bottom corner from 25 yards out to give the visitors hope, and their goal was a fair reflection of a second half that reached the half-hour mark with Wolves having clocked up nine shots to their opponents' zero.

But they added just one more as Liverpool's attempts at containment began to succeed, ensuring they held on for a big win that was greeted emphatically by the Anfield crowd.

Performance a worry for Liverpool?

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah were Liverpool's goalscorers / IMAGO / Sportimage

Your take on Liverpool's performance probably depends on whether you're glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person.

For the optimists, this was yet another win that moved the Reds seven points clear and, crucially, a game closer to lifting that coveted Premier League title. But the pessimists were also given something to feed off in the form of an extremely poor second-half effort that was not befitting of champions.

Still, the fact is that Liverpool do not play poorly particularly often, and so if they have won despite doing that, it can surely only be considered a blow to their title rivals.

Wataru Endo the man for the big occasion

Endo's introduction shored things up immeasurably / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages

If Wolves' failure to sustain their threat in the latter part of the second half can be linked to anything, it is surely the arrival of Wataru Endo into the game.

The visitors managed just one more shot after the Japanese's introduction, with his ability to break up play and keep things simple in possession relieving the pressure on Liverpool.

He also won two crucial fouls by using his body intelligently, showing qualities that Arne Slot will perhaps now feel he should have leaned on at Goodison Park.

Wolves look dead certs to avoid the drop

Vítor Pereira can be encouraged by Wolves' second-half display / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

Wolves may be heading home without any points for their endeavours, but they will surely take great heart from a second-half display that showed why they are surely too good to go down.

In truth, it is a travesty that their second-half performance was not rewarded, but the upside is that there are few trickier places to go to than the home of the Premier League leaders.

If Vitor Pereira's side continue in the same vein in the weeks ahead, then there is little chance of Ipswich or Leicester doing enough to drag them back into the relegation zone.

Check out the player ratings from Liverpool 2-1 Wolves here.