Liverpool cannot say that they were not warned. Even before the match at Molineux took place, the message of the home team Wolves was clearly shown on the banner hanging in the middle of the field with the words: "not afraid of anything".
Despite being at the bottom of the Premier League table and almost having no chance of relegation, the victory over Aston Villa in the previous round showed that Wolves were still determined to fight to the end to protect their honor. And at Molineux, coach Rob Edwards' team dealt another painful blow to Liverpool when Andre's shot in injury time touched a defender and then changed direction, leaving goalkeeper Alisson Becker completely helpless.
The Brazilian midfielder's goal in the 90+4 minute caused Liverpool to continue to pay the price for the final moments of the match. This is the fifth time this season they have lost due to goals scored after the 90th minute - the most in Premier League history for a team in a season.
In addition to the defeat to Wolves, Liverpool also succumbed in a similar scenario against Manchester City, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Besides, they also let Fulham and Leeds United equalize in injury time, dropping a total of 9 valuable points.
In a dramatic season in the final minutes - both positive and negative - Liverpool's continuous exposure of weaknesses has become the main reason why they have to pay the price. The combination of bad luck and defensive errors created conditions for Wolves to score the decisive goal, thereby defeating the reigning Premier League champions with a score of 2-1.
The Red Brigade" may complain about the foul that was not awarded a penalty to Dominik Szoboszlai or the situation where the ball touched Joe Gomez's foot and changed direction. However, their continuous collapse in the final stage of the match shows that this is not simply a matter of luck.
Before the away trip to West Midlands, coach Arne Slot was asked about the Premier League trend that is increasingly focusing on fitness and set pieces. He frankly shared: "Do I like that? My football heart doesn't".
In fact, Liverpool's performance at Molineux was also difficult to please pure football lovers. The first half was quite dull, when the only notable opportunity for the away team was Cody Gakpo's weak shot.
Meanwhile, Wolves actively gave the ball control to their opponent and patiently waited for counter-attack opportunities. The opportunity came in the 78th minute when Tolu Arokodare overcame Virgil van Dijk and then passed the ball for Rodrigo Gomes to chip the ball over Alisson's head to open the score.
According to Opta, this is the second goal scored late with the first shot in a Premier League match.
Liverpool equalized just 5 minutes later when Mohamed Salah took advantage of Jean Ricner-Bellegarde's pass error to finish past Jose Sa.
This is Salah's first goal in the Premier League since November 1, 2025. However, despite ending the scoring drought, the ineffective performance of the Egyptian player still reflects Liverpool's deadlock on both wings. On the opposite side, Gakpo's most notable contribution was the situation of accidentally blocking Curtis Jones' seemingly goal-scoring shot before being substituted after the 60th minute.
Despite spending nearly 450 million pounds in the summer transfer window last year, Liverpool probably still needs a major overhaul to overcome the gaps in the squad, especially the creativity in attack. The return of Florian Wirtz - currently injured in the back - is considered very necessary.
However, Slot's team should have had enough quality to defeat an opponent who only won 2 matches in the whole season before entering this round. But in an effort to find a decisive goal, Liverpool revealed a gap in defense, creating an opportunity for Andre to shoot from outside the penalty area.
That gamble was successful. The Brazilian midfielder's shot changed direction, causing Molineux stadium to explode, while Edwards rushed along the sideline in extreme joy.
After the match, Slot admitted: "How should I summarize this? Still the same old story. We controlled the ball a lot but scored too few goals from opportunities in an open game. In the end we scored one goal, they scored two goals and one goal in injury time. Our whole season almost went on like that".
That is a frank assessment and also a bitter reality for Liverpool. Too many times this season, the old story has been repeated with them. And the time to change the ending of the season is running out.
