Liverpool responded to their midweek draw with Everton by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 to restore their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
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Four days after James Tarkowski's volley in the eighth minute of stoppage time denied them victory in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Liverpool were not much more comfortable at Anfield.
Luis Diaz bundled in a 15th-minute opener, then was brought down by Josa Sa for a 37th-minute penalty, which Mohamed Salah coolly converted.
However, Wolves threatened on the counter throughout and halved the deficit through Matheus Cunha's second-half stunner, though they were unable to find a late equaliser.
While the Reds extend their advantage over title rivals Arsenal, Wolves stay 17th, two points clear of Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
26 | +36 | 61 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
25 | +29 | 53 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
25 | +12 | 47 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
25 | +17 | 44 |
How the match unfolded
Liverpool made the breakthrough from their first real attack, Diaz bundling a bouncing ball past Sa after Toti Gomes made a mess of his clearance.
After Diogo Jota spurned two decent chances, Liverpool got their second goal. Diaz broke in behind and was tripped by Sa, allowing Salah to score down the middle 12 yards.
The second half started with chances for both teams, with Marshall Munetsi drawing a one-v-one save from Alisson after being introduced for his Premier League debut, before the offside flag denied Salah a second at the other end.
Salah thought he had another chance when referee Simon Hooper awarded Liverpool a second penalty just before the hour, but a VAR review led to that decision being overturned, as it was deemed that Emmanuel Agbadou did not make sufficient contact with Jota as he slid in.
Wolves got themselves back in the match in the 67th minute, Cunha turning Ryan Gravenberch to curl a sumptuous strike beyond Alisson from range.
That goal made for a nervy finish, but Wolves were unable to create one last big chance, with substitute Jarell Quansah making a heroic block to deny Munetsi at the death.
Salah gets nervy Liverpool over the line
The pressure was on at the end of a difficult week for Liverpool, after Arsenal's 2-0 win at Leicester City on Saturday narrowed their lead at the summit to four points. They showed signs of nerves again here, even after surging into a 2-0 first-half lead.
Arne Slot was forced to hook Ibrahima Konate for Quansah at half-time to ensure he kept his full complement on the pitch. The Frenchman had clumsily flattened Cunha from behind when already on a yellow card and appeared in danger of losing his cool.
Liverpool then needed Alisson to make a trademark one-v-one save early in the second period, but the Brazilian was given no chance by Cunha's curler, which ensured a nail-biting finale.
In the end, the hosts clung on as Salah's penalty proved to be the winner. The Egyptian's spot-kick was his 32nd successful penalty for Liverpool in the Premier League, matching Steven Gerrard for the most scored by any Reds player.
It was also Salah’s 101st goal at Anfield, the joint-third most at a single stadium in Premier League history, with only Sergio Aguero (106 at the Etihad Stadium) and Thierry Henry (116 at Highbury) netting more at one ground.
The goal also moved him to 260 goal contributions overall in the competition (178 goals, 82 assists), inching ahead of Harry Kane to go third outright in the all-time charts, behind Wayne Rooney (276) and Ryan Giggs (271).
Salah has gotten Liverpool out of jail on several occasions already this season, but Slot will hope for a better team performance on Wednesday's rescheduled trip to Aston Villa, which presents them with a chance to go 10 points clear.
Cunha almost sparks revival
Wolves' upturn under Vitor Pereira stalled as they started 2025 with four straight Premier League defeats, but back-to-back victories over Villa and Blackburn Rovers – the latter in the FA Cup – had lifted the mood.
A new contract for talismanic forward Cunha had only brought further positivity, and ahead of Sunday's contest, Liverpool head coach Slot said the Brazilian was good enough to play for one of the Premier League's elite clubs.
There remains a belief that Cunha could move on at the end of the campaign, and he did his burgeoning reputation no harm here. He now has more goals from outside the area (five) than any other player in the Premier League this season and is up to 12 overall for 2024/25.
Ultimately, however, Wolves gave themselves slightly too much to do with an error-strewn defensive performance in the first half.
Prior to Sunday, Pereira's Wolves had not conceded a single goal while Toti was on the pitch.
However, he shanked a clearance straight to Diaz for the opener, moments after Pablo Sarabia had cheaply conceded possession to spark the Liverpool attack.
Agbadou, meanwhile, felt he was nudged in the back by Diaz in the build-up to Liverpool's penalty, but Sa could have no complaints after rushing from his line to trip the Colombian.
Overall, there were plenty of positives for Pereira. With the fixture list becoming a little kinder from here, Wolves must dust themselves down and go again.
Club reports
Liverpool report | Wolves report
What the managers said?
Arne Slot: “You can never breathe in this competition. I saw Arsenal's 15-game unbeaten run and the gap has always been the same so that shows that we do. If you want to compete for something special then you have to win a lot of games in this league.”
Vitor Pereira: "Frustrated because it wasn't a win. Our first half, we showed a lot of mistakes, a lot of respect to them. We cannot play like this. We must play our game.
"At half-time I asked the team to play and press them in our way. And we did a fantastic second half. The second goal wasn't possible but I think we deserved it.
"The first half was too much respect, we cannot play football like this. We must respect them but playing our game. we are a team that likes to press higher, likes to create chances, to have the ball, to play with courage, as we did in the second half."
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Key facts
Liverpool have won 60 points in 25 Premier League matches under Slot (W18 D6 L1). The only manager in the competition’s history to win more points through his first 25 matches is Jose Mourinho (64 – Antonio Conte also on 60).
Salah has been directly involved in 37 goals in 25 league matches for Liverpool this season (23 goals, 14 assists). The only previous campaign in which he’s been involved in and scored more Premier League goals was his first for Liverpool, in 2017/18 (42 – 32 goals, 10 assists).
Cunha has scored more goals from outside the box (five) than any other player in the Premier League this season; the only Brazilian player to net more in a single campaign is Philippe Coutinho (six in 2016/17).