Super sub Origi’s late, late
JURGEN KLOPP paid tribute to Liverpool ‘legend’ Divock Origi. sub came up with yet another big goal for the club in a lastgasp win.
The Belgian kept up his habit of scoring late winners for the Reds as he struck in the fourth minute of injury time.
And, when asked if Origi had secured the sort of victory that can bring titles, Klopp replied: “If you do it 38 times, yes absolutely, if you do it once, no. It’s really important and feels really big for us to be honest.
“It was a very difficult game, the wind makes football really difficult, and today especially for the dominant side it makes it really difficult.
“It was a challenge but, in these difficult circumstances, I like the game we played.
“It was clear, when you don’t score you just have to keep going, and that’s what we did and then Divock Origi the legend came and finished it off for us. I love it.”
Coming up against rivals who had scored four goals in each of their last three Premier League outings, it was no surprise to see Wolves look to keep things tight early doors – an aim they largely succeeded in across a forgettable opening.
Liverpool never stay quiet for too long, though, and should have taken the lead when Trent Alexander-Arnold and the returning Diogo Jota missed presentable chances before Mo Salah was somehow denied by an inspired Romain Saiss challenge on the line.
It was Wolves who looked likeliest before the break, Rayan Ait-Nouri dribbling in brilliantly off the left before producing a wild shot.
The visitors’ struggles in terms of chance creation resumed following the restart and, even when they finally
carved out a seemingly unmissable opportunity on the hour mark, they somehow contrived to miss it.
A mix-up between Saiss and Jose Sa at the edge of the box had given Jota a keeper-less target from close range and yet, instead of producing an easy finish, he powered the ball straight at a grateful Conor Coady on the line.
That glaring miss convinced Klopp to make a change – and a brave one at that – with Origi replacing captain Jordan Henderson with 30 minutes remaining.
The forward impressed immediately, leading his manager to add: “It’s difficult to get 500 minutes a week in this team because of the players we have, but Divock is an incredible footballer and he is great in these moments.
“He doesn’t need a lot of runup or time to get into a game, and especially not today. It was his game, he could be Divock Origi 100 percent.
“In and around the box, use your body and your technique, finish off the situations. He was a threat before he scored.”
But it would take until the 94th minute for Origi to get a breakthrough preceded by a sublime Salah touch and cutback and which left Klopp thankful a summer move away did not materialise.
He added: “If I was in another club, I’d go for Divock. I thought it would happen, that’s true, because he doesn’t have massive game time.”
Wolves boss Bruno Lage was left rueing what he felt was an undeserved defeat.
He said: “The important thing to say is that, when we win, we win together. When we lose, we lose together.
“It’s frustrating because they did everything we planned and did not deserve not to lose.”