The Debrief: Resurgent Wolves strike late to beat Liverpool

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1:18Stephen Warnock:On the Football Daily Podcast, The Debrief with Kelly Cates.

1:23Ben Mee:Well, Arnest Lott said earlier in the week that the Premier League isn't a joy to watch. And certainly for about 80 minutes, neither was that game, but an incredible end to the match at Molyneux. Wolves going in front, Liverpool getting back into it, and then that late, late winner for the home side. What an incredible week for Wolves, Ben Mee. They beat Aston Villa on Friday, they've beaten the champions, and it could get even better because they play Liverpool again in the FA Cup at Molyneux on Friday.

1:52Kelly Cates:Yeah, great to those Wolves players, great to Rob Edwards there, I think the substitutions made a real big impact in that game, the last 20 minutes they were magnificent and obviously got the goal which set the game alight really, Liverpool came back and Jose Sarr made a really good save onto the post, probably should have saved the goal as well I felt but the first save was magnificent and then to go on and win the game after losing a goal to come back 1-1 and fantastic for them and yes it's a good atmosphere there when it gets going.

2:26Ben Mee:Also with us of course Stephen Warnock and Ian Dennis are at Molineux. Denno it wasn't much to write home about in terms of your match report for the first what 80 minutes and then it caught fire.

2:39Stephen Warnock:It did I mean Ben's just talked about the substitutions it gave Wolves a lot of energy, their game plan worked to a tee, they nullified Liverpool, they played with a false nine, they were hard to break down, Liverpool all their possession didn't really create anything they brought the substitutions on Arokodara gave them a little bit of a focal point and it was his layoff towards Rodrigo Gomez who got the first goal with 12 minutes remaining, racing away good composed finish, little dink finish over Alisson and then Salah five minutes later, after a Bellegarde mistake, I know Ben's saying as well as Stephen did that Sars should have made the save in his near post that came from a Bellegarde mistake that gave Liverpool the equaliser then five minutes later and then just that shot there from Andre first goal for the club first in English football wicked deflection off Joe Gomez and all of a sudden now and you think that Wolves have collected two points from their first 18 games they've now taken 14 points from their last 12 back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time since April and you remember Kelly the mood around Molyneux a few years ago completely transformed now and the last time the bottom place Premier League side beat the

3:51Ben Mee:reigning champions October 2017 when Crystal Palace beat Chelsea at Selhurst Park the performances this season from from Liverpool have have not overall been great although they've had their moments moments steven but this was so slow and so labored and i know that you said in in commentary that if anybody deserved to win it it was wolves and yet when you look at the statistics from the game everything is heavily weighted in in favor of liverpool in terms of shots in terms of shots on target in terms of how much of the ball they had successful put everything what why didn't it look like that on the on the on the ground because it's slow and it's labored

4:33Ian Dennis:and whenever you watch Liverpool at the moment, it's almost like they have to go a goal behind to lift themselves. Well, I think we're so used to watching a Jurgen Klopp Liverpool in the way that they play. And even last year, I thought they played with a better tempo in the way that they attack teams. This season, it seems like they want to control the ball more and it just allows teams to get set. I think if you're playing against them, I think if you can get back into position quite quickly, they're actually, it's not easy to play against, but it's easier. but the chances that they created I mean there was probably four of note that were decent chances but I still look at it and think Ingemo is opportunity what else was there?

5:16Ian Dennis:I'm struggling to think

5:16Stephen Warnock:there was the one with the corner on the right

5:18Ian Dennis:it was flicked on at the near post yeah but it's a corner it's nothing in open play is it? and that's the thing a lot of it is yeah that was a good opportunity but I don't look at Liverpool and think god they're hard to play against whereas last year they were and underclocked they were but at the moment they seem a little bit soft there's a softness about them and I mean I don't know what Ben thinks but I'd enjoy sort of roughing them up a little bit at the moment if I was playing against them there seems that element where every time there's a tackle they're looking round and wanting a little bit of protection from the referee and when you see that you think nah we've got them here Well you felt so boss

5:54Stephen Warnock:I was like that didn't you which turned out to be

5:56Kelly Cates:the Wolves winning goal Absolutely yeah I think a little bit of a lack of desire lack of desire, lack of intensity, a little bit lacking there I think the last goal probably summed it up a little bit Alisson's clearance and you kind of go from the halfway line to the edge of the box without a challenge really and Liverpool players getting out to him and going to press him and looking to want to get that ball back quickly and have that intensity to go and win it back and you end up having a shot on goal which shouldn't really trouble anybody obviously a little reflection there and you end up losing the game

6:26Ben Mee:The question that Stephen was asking as well of him or saying about himself and asking of you was, would you enjoy that? Would you enjoy going in and being physical against a Liverpool side who are, as you say, possibly lacking in desire or in commitment to the game?

6:42Kelly Cates:I think certainly when you're playing against a top side, you're looking for a little bit of weakness. And if you do sense that, you definitely want to go and exploit it. And I think, you know, the season's gone past. It's been difficult to find many weaknesses with this Liverpool side. They play quick, they play with intensity, the attack with pace and tempo but yeah they just didn't seem to be there tonight and I think Wolves sort of sniffed I think Rob Edwards sort of sensed it as well with his substitutions weren't really positive and got after the game really and probably felt like they could go on and win it which obviously they ended up doing so

7:15Ben Mee:Yeah in spectacular fashion as well In terms of substitutions the introduction of Curtis Jones at half time seemed to make a difference for Liverpool's Stephen and also bringing on Rio and Gamoa, who Liverpool fans want to see more of in games. It brought back a little bit of that pace around the box that Ben was saying that Liverpool are capable of but didn't show in most of the game this evening.

7:39Ian Dennis:Yeah, I think Curtis does that well. When he gets himself advanced beyond midfield, he's got great passing, but he passes the ball at speed. I think Liverpool fans are a little bit critical of him at times for holding on to the ball too long at times. And there is elements of that. But when he does play quickly, he's so hard to play against because he sees things so quickly. It's just sometimes if players are on the same wavelength as him and that's a worry. Ingemo is always going to come on and lose the ball at times because he's a little bit young and naive. And I think sometimes you feel like you can just take everyone on like you can in youth football.

8:14Ian Dennis:And it's not quite like that. So he'll learn. It's a great experience for him tonight to understand how tough it is to play against a team who's battling at the bottom end of the league and fighting for everything. But I'd be more worried about Cody Gatpo, about Mohamed Salah. I know Salah got his goal tonight, but he was very quiet in the game. Eketike was starved of any service. And my biggest concern with this Liverpool team is the midfield area. Gravenberg is nowhere near where he was last year. McAllister is nowhere near where he was last year. And they were arguably Liverpool's two most important players last year.

8:51Ian Dennis:Everyone looks at the goals that Salah got, but they controlled that midfield. And when we talk about the team being hard to play against, McAllister's turnovers in possession last year was incredible. The amount of balls that he won back, but also as well, the way he controlled the pace of the game. This year, those two have really struggled in midfield. And if you struggle in midfield in the Premier League, it's very, very difficult.

9:13Ben Mee:As Liverpool found out to their cost against Wolves at Molineux with that late, late winner from Andre deflected off Joe Gomez. There were several Gomez on the pitch, so I had to hit one of them. It was 2-1 to Wolves at the end of the game. Incredible victory for them. Let's hear from Wolves manager Rob Edwards.

9:30Stephen Warnock:Yeah, very proud. Really good night again for the football club. I thought the first half, we did really well to make sure that we slowed the game down. We remained in the game whilst being really aggressive with our defending when we can. You know, if you become passive, then Liverpool are going to kill you. So we defended well, limited them to very little, right in the game where we wanted it to be. and we felt we could get stronger in the second half. That's what we've been doing. The game starts to open up, more pressure on the opposition to try and win and push forward. Space is open and we were able to find a way to win the game.

10:01Stephen Warnock:I think what makes me most proud is the fact that once Liverpool got back in the game, we didn't go under, we didn't give up. I think most people would say, look, if there's going to be one more game now, it's going to go to Liverpool. But for us to show the character and quality and the belief to keep pushing makes me really proud. and we could see just how much it meant when that injury time goal went in the race down the touchline Mourinho-esque wasn't it it clearly meant so much to you it did, it's a big moment and we've got to enjoy it Liverpool are an amazing football club a huge football club with a brilliant manager, brilliant players and to beat them you've got to enjoy that moment only a few nights ago I was doing the same thing because we beat Villa as well and so it's been a good couple of days for us.

10:47Stephen Warnock:We've got to try and keep this going.

10:48Ben Mee:Ben, we talked before the games even got underway this evening about the motivation of being at the wrong end of the table. We'll get into a stage now where it looks as though it's all over for Wolves. Opta did their supercomputer and had a look at the fixture they've got remaining and gave them a 100 % chance of getting relegated at the end of the season and yet they turn up and they put in that performance against Liverpool that is so full of focus and determination and commitment and come away from it with all three points. When they play them on Friday in the FA Cup, there is an immediate reward in stake.

11:25Ben Mee:So if they can go in with this commitment to a game in the Premier League where, you know, realistic there's not too much to play for, imagine what they're going to do on Friday.

11:34Kelly Cates:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, for these players, there's still plenty to play for. There's still plenty of people watching. There's the home crowd. the pressures of them wanting a performance that they've not received, I guess, for most of the season. So it's a little bit of payback for them, I guess. And individually, there's opportunities to impress other teams. Some players might be looking to try and stay in the Premier League, for example, and go in that route. But yeah, obviously, Friday is a massive game and it can, I guess, turn a season into a small positive, I guess. or if they go far in the FA Cup and do well, it could be a big positive and get something out of the season for the fans, for themselves as well.

12:17Kelly Cates:And Rob Epps, I'm sure, will send that message across and I'm sure they'll be looking forward to Friday night after tonight.

12:23Ben Mee:Let's get some reaction now from the Liverpool boss, Arna Slott.

12:26Kelly Cates:If you're not frustrated after this,

12:29Ian Dennis:after losing it in the battle where we are in, where points are so precious, if you lose it, then the way we lost it, So, as I said, we definitely didn't play great. But I think that if you play the same game ten times, you don't lose it ten times. But we need to do better. We need to be better. And that's why I assume with the players, but definitely for me, this is a big frustration again.

12:56Stephen Warnock:Where in particular do you want to see improvement?

12:59Ian Dennis:No, I think we have recently we've scored mainly from set pieces and we are the team that creates most chances from open play. But we really, really, really struggle to score from these chances. So if you keep aside all the goals we've scored recently in 2026, the goals we've scored from set pieces, we hardly score the goal. And that's something we have to improve. But I also think we need, with all the ball possession we have, we should and need to be able to create even more than we do. But yeah, scoring goals is vital in football. And that is something we are not doing well enough.

13:35Ben Mee:Stephen what do Liverpool need to do between now and Friday to make sure that there isn't another repeat?

13:42Ian Dennis:I think there's going to be a few harsh words said in the changing room that the tempo of the games in which they play has to be upped from the off and it can't be reactionary to what goes on if a team scores before them and then they suddenly decide that they step up the gears and try and up the tempo it has to be from the off they're the better team they've got the better players but it just feels like it's so lethargic when you watch Liverpool and like we said easy to play against so that has to be upped and if they up the tempo they're a difficult team to play against and the other thing I'd say is I'm not sure on the situation of Florian Wirtz but they need him back because they need that creative edge in midfield and someone who can retain the ball

14:27Ben Mee:That game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool in the FA Cup is live on BBC One and also on 5 Live Sport on Friday evening.

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