Liverpool conjure that vital trick of winning ugly
a lITTle like the win, the hug for the man who secured it took a while to come. Jurgen Klopp had set off to catch Divock origi the moment the whistle went but at each stride he was blocked. a red shirt here, an orange one to console there, and then three officials in a line, a handshake and a nod for all. When he finally caught origi, he grabbed him from behind and nearly dragged the poor chap off his feet. There is a special kind of feeling around scrappy wins, that rarest of things for liverpool these days, and there is a special kind of feeling at liverpool for origi, that rarest of figures. at 26, you might wonder why he remains content with so much time in the shadows, 34 starts across seven seasons, but when they let him out he has made an exceptional habit of catching your eye. he did it against Barcelona and Tottenham when they won that big cup a couple of years back; he did it here against Wolves and it won’t echo for nearly so long. But it could yet go down as a moment of profound importance in this title race, for how do you quantify the value of 94th-minute winners? What price on a goal that shifts a mood so considerably, given this risked being an almighty letdown on a day when chelsea left the door open at the top?
There were 16 shots from Liverpool, before origi’s, and most were off course, weak or, in the case of Diogo Jota, just a little laughable. Not much good was coming from an attack that is usually as devastating as it is beautiful. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn’t that great. and that can be the kind of regret that lingers when the prizes go out and you recall the cold day you drew 0-0 at Wolves. Good side, Wolves. They don’t concede many. But they have scored 12 goals all season.
Mo salah has 13. a team like Liverpool. on a charge of 18 straight games in which they scored at least twice, shouldn’t drop points in that kind of equation. so thats why Klopp nearly floored origin with his hug and later dropped a quite marvellous line: 'I hope he one day finds a manager whoe plays him more than me.'
It was delightfully catchy, even if the romance of the identity of the match-winner might obscure a more relevant trait; Klopp’s Liverpool can make it all look very easy but they have that essential quality of being able to grind out the result when it isn’t. Since Klopp arrived, Liverpool have scored a league-high 13 game-winning goals in the 90th minute or later. ‘It was matchday 14 or 15 today, not even half the season,’ Klopp said. ‘You have glamorous wins 20, 25 times a year? This is really unlikely. You have to win football games, however. We really pushed Wolves back, our pressing was outstanding. ‘We are not surprised the boys stay on track, but I don’t take it for granted. It is an important skill to stay positive in a game.’ And it enabled an important win.
MO SALAh has reiterated his desire to stay at Liverpool and urged the club to solve the contract impasse, amid interest from Barcelona. ‘The decision is in the hands of the management and they have to solve this issue,’ said Salah. ‘It’s up to them. I read what was said about Xavi’s interest to sign me. This makes me happy that a team like Barcelona is interested in me, but I’m happy in Liverpool.’