Liverpool have jumped to the top of the Premier League after a 2-1 victory against bottom of the table Wolves on Saturday night.
Mail Sport’s Dominic King was in attendance to rule the roost over both sides with one Reds star scoring an 8/10 while some of his team-mates will have felt like they could have done more. Meanwhile, four Wolves players scored just a 5/10.
Liverpool looked comfortable at 1-0 after Ibrahima Konate opened the scoring, before the Frenchman made a needless mistake to allow Wolves to pull level through Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Wolves themselves made a needless mistake when Nelson Semedo gave away a penalty for having his hands all over Diogo Jota inside the box.
Mohamed Salah put Liverpool back in front, and though they were far from convincing in their display, they took three points to jump to the top of the table.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool side have jumped to the top of the Premier League after a 2-1 victory
WOLVES (4-3-2-1)
Sam Johnstone – One magnificent stop to thwart Szoboszlai from close range but undid that when meekly allowing Konate’s header to slither in – 6
Nelson Semedo – Got in a pickle when allowing Jota to wrong foot him and always dicing with danger when wrestling him to the ground – 5
Santiago Bueno – Sacrificed late on as Wolves were chasing the game; had been reasonably solid for much of the night – 6
Toti – Beaten in the air by Konate for Liverpool’s opener and didn’t give the impression he was comfortable with the ball at his feet – 5.5
Nelson Semedo got in a pickle as he gave away a penalty for wrestling Diogo Jota to the ground
Rayan Ait-Nouri – Terrific energy and endeavour to keep charging up field and his commitment enabled Wolves to get a foothold back in the game – 6.5
Mario Lemina – Caught in possession too many times and some of his decision making (and tackling) was flawed – 5.5
Andre – Booked for a tackle on Mac Allister that in the not too distant past would barely have warranted a word from the referee – 6.5
Joao Gomes – Brazilian was always near the ball but never in a place where he was going to win the midfield battle; comfortably outpointed – 5
Matheus Cunha – Plenty of ability but there is going to have to come a point when he grabs a game by the scruff of the neck and dictates – 5.5
Jean-Ricner Bellgarde – Petulant reaction when he came off but he could have no complaints after starting on the periphery and staying there – 5
Jorgen Strand Larsen – Never had a single second where it looked like he would get the better of van Dijk and eventually replaced – 5
Subs
Hwang (for Larsen 68mins)
Manager
Gary O’Neill – Intent on getting Wolves to play from the back but why be so dogmatic when they players are struggling to do what he wants? Fans were getting restless from an early stage – 5
LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1)
Alisson Becker – Back from injury minus his beard; didn’t have much to do but will know he should have done better in the situation for Wolves’s goal – 6.5
Trent Alexander-Arnold – One cross in the first half deserved to create a goal, did all that was required of him defensively – 6.5
Ibrahima Konate – Terrific leap secured the vital breakthrough but furious with himself (rightly so) for the clumsiness which led to the equaliser – 6.5
Ibrahima Konate scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool to open the scoring but gifted Wolves their equaliser with a piece of careless defending when he just had to clear
Virgil van Dijk – Playing in cruise control at the moment; he’s never out of position and doesn’t miss anything. Superb start to season – 7.5
Andy Robertson – Never disappoints, never does anything other than run for miles, tackle as if his life depends on it and provide a flurry of crosses – 7
Alexis Mac Allister – Close control in certain occasions was fabulous and his performance as a was elegantly neat and tidy – 7
Virgil van Dijk has enjoyed a superb start to the season and was playing in cruise control
Ryan Gravenberch continues to prove that he is an important part of the current Liverpool side
Ryan Gravenberch – Has become such an important part of Slot’s plans, his energy and discipline making things tick as his head coach wants – 7
Mohamed Salah – Scored the decisive penalty, might have got himself another goal, created chances yet will still feel he could have done more – 7
Dominik Szoboszlai – Will wonder how his shot from three yards stayed out. Crucial to Liverpool’s pressing game yet there is more to come – 6.5
Luis Diaz – One of his quieter nights but still Wolves would have been thrilled when he was substituted as he has it in to score at any time – 6.5
Diogo Jota – Back at his old home and grabbed the opening provided by Darwin Nunez’s illness with both hands. Won the penalty and cross for Konate was glorious – 8
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai would have been disappointed not to score
Diogo Jota was the star player for the Reds by grabbing an assist and winning a penalty
Subs
Gakpo (for Diaz 73mins), Jones (for Szoboszlai 73mins), Gomez (for Robertson 89mins)
Manager
Arne Slot – Wants his team to be judged after they have come through a difficult run of fixtures – this was an excellent first step forward in this sequence – 7
Referee
Anthony Taylor – Didn’t deal his cards today like Las Vegas croupier but he was finickity and that kind of officiating enrages supporters. Still, there could be no argument with his penalty call after Jota was wrestled over – 6
