It did not feel like bottom v top as Wolves succumbed to Liverpool. There was not a stark difference between the teams but, unsurprisingly, those now sitting at the summit possessed the greater quality in the critical moments as Liverpool showed they could win without playing well, a trait any team challenging for the title require.
Rayan Aït-Nouri cancelled out Ibrahima Konaté’s opener, only for Liverpool to win a penalty in the immediate aftermath of the equaliser. From the spot, Mohamed Salah hit his fifth goal of the season to earn the points, even though his side failed to reach the levels Arne Slot expects.
Gary O’Neil worked hard to sign Sam Johnstone over the summer, feeling the need to upgrade José Sá. As a goalkeeper, Johnstone has proven his quality down the years at a number of Premier League clubs but at Wolves he is being forced to play out from the back and his footwork does not match his glovework. Poor passing and delaying his decision-making were putting his team under pressure and he was lucky not to be punished by Liverpool on a couple of occasions early on.
Wolves started promisingly, maintaining possession without creating a dangerous opening as Alisson enjoyed a bedding-in period after returning from a hamstring injury. In central midfield, the trio of João Gomes, Mario Lemina and André are hard working but unlikely to find an opening with a clever pass. They were, however, able to keep Liverpool’s triumvirate quiet, forcing them to go wide when attacking. Despite the odd scare, Wolves were coping with what Luis Díaz and Salah were throwing at them as the visitors attempted to quickly turn defence into attack without success.
Liverpool produced a sluggish start by their standards, struggling to find a rhythm and lacking the speed to break through the Wolves defence. Johnstone’s palms were eventually stung on the half hour when Trent Alexander-Arnold thrashed a free-kick from 20 yards straight at him after André had been penalised for a lunge on Alexis Mac Allister. The Brazilian won the ball but the referee, Anthony Taylor, was concerned by the reckless nature of the challenge.
Johnstone proved his worth when Dominik Szoboszlai moved away from Toti in the box to meet a precise Andy Robertson cross six yards out, getting himself in the perfect position to block the Hungarian’s sidefoot volley.
The goalkeeper was unable to stop Konaté from a similar position in first-half injury-time, however. The centre-back stayed up after a corner and powered above Toti to head home the opener, via the fingertips of Johnstone, from a looping Diogo Jota cross.
There was mild farce when Lemina blindly passed the ball straight across his own box to Salah. The Egyptian was presented with an open goal but sent his right-foot shot wide. Liverpool should have been out of sight, having enjoyed the best three chances in the match with only one goal to show for their endeavours.
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They were made to pay for their profligacy in the 56th minute when Jørgen Strand Larsen chased down a pass, Robertson tried to clear but the ball rebounded off the striker into the box. Konaté had a simple task but failed to shepherd the ball out of play, allowing the Norwegian to win possession, lay it off to newly arrived substitute Carlos Borges, who miscontrolled it straight to Aït-Nouri, who bundled home.
However, another present was sent Liverpool’s way minutes later when Nélson Semedo was adjudged to have pulled Jota down in the box. Salah stepped up to send Johnstone the wrong way from the spot.
Borges had a chance to level things when he outpaced Robertson to a through-ball, only to cut back inside and see his shot blocked by Konaté, making amends for his earlier error. It summed up Wolves in the final third, as they showed promise but not the clinical nature to make a difference. Nor does it help that winless Wolves possess the worst defensive record in the league, having conceded 16 in six matches.
It was not pretty for Liverpool, but when you are looking down on everyone else, it is more about enjoying the view than worrying about the aesthetics of the platform.