DAWS Klopp flops put in
NEXT up it’s Everton for Jurgen Klopp’s creaking Red machine – and they can’t be looking forward to that one bit.
The blue half of Merseyside enjoyed their early kick-off victory over league leaders Arsenal for main course and then tuned into this for dessert.
As their lowly neighbours suddenly get something to get noisy about, Liverpool are falling apart at the seams.
They’ve now conceded more goals than in all of last season’s campaign and they don’t appear to be coming up with any answers.
They were two goals behind with only 12 minutes gone and it could have been worse. This just isn’t supposed to be happening.
Klopp was taunted with chants of, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ as he was sent home to reflect on only one win in the last seven games and no Premier League victory so far this year.
Liverpool got themselves in a tangle with just a few minutes on the clock and suddenly it all got a bit nervy.
Three minutes in and Alisson got his fingers warmed when he had to move sharply to deal with a snapshot from Matheus Cunha.
The keeper went full stretch to his right to beat away Cunha’s 20-yard stinger and there was more to come.
A minute later Pablo Sarabia found himself in a decent position 12 yards out but with his back to goal and as he swung around to make the connection ended up slicing well wide. But Liverpool’s defence continued to judder and the home side finally cracked it open in the sixth minute when Sarabia looped a clever ball over the top to send Hee-Chan Hwang away down the right.
Hwang rifled a low shot goalwards from a tight angle and if it wasn’t going in, Joel Matip made sure it did.
The Reds defender couldn’t do anything about it as Hwang’s shot struck his outstretched leg to divert it
into his own net. Twelve minutes later Wolves doubled their advantage as new boy Craig Dawson celebrated his debut in real style.
Max Kilman’s header from eight yards was blocked and before the home side even had time to make strong claims for a handball, Dawson took things into his own hands and smashed the loose ball into the roof of the net.
Alisson was forced to race to the edge of his box to smother at the feet of Ruben Neves as the visitors desperately tried to dust themselves off and get ready to fight.
Darwin Nunez threatened to reduce the arrears with an angled shot from 14 yards but keeper Jose Sa was ready to deal with it. Dawson was clearly fancying his chance in front of goal and might have done better with a close-range header from Neves’ cross.
Wolves were forced into a change just before half-time when Hwang limped away with a hamstring injury and while Liverpool wouldn’t have been sorry to see the back of him they could hardly have relished the introduction of paceman Adama Traore as his replacement.
And in the 71st minute, it was Traore’s raw speed which had the visitors at sixes and sevens and when he burst through and fed the ball to Neves the midfielder made absolutely no mistake with a low shot from eight yards to seal Klopp’s miserable day.