Wolves 1-3 Liverpool: Cody Gakpo, Andy Robertson and a Hugo Bueno own goal seal victory for the Reds

Liverpool scored two late goals to claim a come-from-behind victory against a battling Wolves side at Molineux and go top of the Premier League.

Cody Gakpo brought Liverpool level early in the second half when he converted Mohamed Salah’s fizzing cross shot.

The home side dominated the first half and deservedly opened the scoring when Hwang Hee-Chan fired in at the far post after excellent wing play from Pedro Neto.

The victory gives Jurgen Klopp’s side a point clear at the top of the table ahead of Saturday’s 3pm kick-off.

Resilient Reds bounce back again

Liverpool once again demonstrated their resilience as they recovered from a slow first half to win after conceding the opening goal for the third time in five Premier League matches this season.

They offered little attacking threat in the first 45 minutes, with their midfield constantly outplayed, before the break.

Klopp called on Luis Diaz to replace the subdued Alexis Mac Allister at half-time, before bringing on Elliott and Darwin Nunez 11 minutes after the restart.

The substitutes made an impact as Liverpool transformed, with Diaz heading just wide of Robertson’s volleyed cross just 90 seconds after coming on.

The Colombian was then involved in the equalizer as some neat interplay on the edge of the area eventually allowed the ball to reach Salah, whose drilled cross shot was collected by Gakpo.

Nunez then almost gave Liverpool the lead, but his shot was well blocked by a combination of goalkeeper Jose Sa and defender Max Kilman.

Wolves looked more and more on their feet and it was the visitors who looked more likely to score.

They duly did so five minutes from time when Robertson, captain in the absence of the suspended Virgil van Dijk, raced onto Salah’s searching pass and scored with a side-foot from six yards.

Elliott wrapped up the victory late on, but had the goal disallowed when his shot was judged to have been sufficiently deflected by Bueno to be scored as an own goal by the Wolves defender.

Neto plays but Wolves are out of gas

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil will have reason to be optimistic despite a fourth defeat in five games this season, leaving the Black Country side at the foot of the Premier League.

The home side were excellent in the first half, with midfielders Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina nipping at the Liverpool players’ heels and feeding debutants Jeanricner Bellegarde and Neto to launch quick counterattacks.

Neto in particular was excellent and set up the opener by getting past three Liverpool players and breaking into the box, before crossing for goalscorer Hwang.

Another dazzling wing play saw him nutmeg Joe Gomez and deliver an inviting cross for Matheus Cunha, who mistimed his jump with the goal at his mercy.

Cunha must have regretted that failure as Wolves faded badly in the second half against a resurgent Liverpool, failing to get a shot on target.

Next weekend’s trip to fellow veteran Luton is already looking like a crucial encounter.

Player of the match

RobertsonAndy Robertson

Wolverhampton Wanderers

1. Squad number7Player NamePedro Neto

2. Squad number11Player NameHwang Hee-chan

3. Squad number27Player NameBellegarde

4. Squad number15Player NameDavidson

5. Squad number8Player NameJoao Gomes

6. Squad number5Player NameLemina

7. Squad number23Player NameKilman

8. Squad number3Player NameAit-Nouri

9. Squad number22Player NameNélson Semedo

10. Squad number1Player NameJose Sa

11. Squad number12Player NameMatheus Cunha

12. Squad number2Player NameDoherty

13. Squad number6Player NameTraore

14. Squad number20Player NameDoyle

15. Squad number17Player NameGood

16. Squad number9Player NameFabio Silva