Although controlling most of the ball rolling on the field, just receiving the almost only shot from the beginning of the match from the home team, The Kop had to pick the ball out of the net in the 78th minute. Liverpool had to work very hard to equalize the score but conceded another goal in injury time and no longer had a chance to score points at Molineux.
The defeat to Wolves was not only surprising for Liverpool because the opponent was the bottom team, their recent form was too good in the Premier League (5/6 recent matches all won). At a time when Chelsea as well as Aston Villa had problems, a good opportunity came to Arne Slot and his students but they missed it too unfortunately.
The upcoming matches are extremely difficult for Liverpool, especially the away matches against Everton, Man United and Aston Villa. It is not certain that Arne Slot's team is safe to realize the goal of winning a Champions League ticket.
Liverpool's way of starting the first half against Wolves is really reprehensible. They played without fire, completely opposite in the confrontation with West Ham.
Liverpool did not give Wolves a chance to shoot towards the goal, but holding the ball a lot also became meaningless when they just played listlessly in midfield. Wolves also felt that the pressure from the opponent was not too great, so the home team did not need to compete too fiercely to regain the game.
This is not the first time Liverpool has played so slowly in the first half. They lacked breakthroughs from both wings by Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo. Hugo Ekitike in the front was too hungry for the ball, so he also had to retreat deep to be able to create opportunities for himself.
Liverpool have only scored in the first half in 11 out of 29 Premier League matches since the beginning of the season. The expected goal score (xG) in their first 45 minutes is also very low, only 0.21. Therefore, The Kop fans also have reason to understand why their team often falters in the first 45 minutes like that.
One of Liverpool's hopes in attack this season is Cody Gakpo, who is going through a difficult period. After Luis Diaz left Anfield to go to Bayern Munich, the entire left flank has been handed over to the Dutch star.
Gakpo is highly expected this season but his form is erratic. In the match against West Ham, he played well, but when it came to the confrontation with Wolves, everything was the opposite. The moment the 26-year-old striker was substituted by Rio Ngumoha is the clearest proof.
We played very poorly in the first half but the second half was a bit better. The whole team played more aggressively, got a goal but then let Wolves score right when they broke into the penalty area.
Liverpool did not give the opponent many chances, on the contrary, the whole team did it many times. But everyone saw that the final score was 2-1 in favor of Wolves. In the previous 22 matches, we lost 3 times in extra time, which is extremely regrettable" - Arne Slot shared.
