Jurgen Klopp stated that he received the response he desired following Harvey Elliott’s sublime strike in Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round replay, which brought troubled Liverpool back on track with a 1-0 victory over Wolves.
After suffering disappointing defeats at Brighton and Brentford in their previous two Premier League contests, Jurgen Klopp’s team received harsh criticism.
However, the much-needed first victory in four games across all competitions was secured by Elliott’s brilliant long-range effort in the first half at Molineux. Ironically, Liverpool will return to Brighton in the fourth round as a reward for defeating the Wolves.
Saturday’s miserable 3-0 loss to Brighton left the Reds languishing in ninth place in the Premier League, 10 points behind the top four.
We played a really good first half. We wanted to see this reaction from ourselves, and the boys did it.
“The goal was outstanding. I don’t want Harvey’s performance to be diminished, but I had a few men of the match today, but the others failed to score.
Following that humiliation, Klopp went through a period of soul-searching and stated that his struggling team needed to “go back to basics.”
The German claimed this week that he will not leave the club unless he is forced to and hinted at roster changes during the summer, amid growing concerns about Klopp’s own future at Anfield.
After the defeat at Brighton, Klopp made eight changes, with only Cody Gakpo, Thiago Alcantara, and Ibrahima Konate remaining in their places due to injuries to a number of keys
Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah weren’t included, but Liverpool’s understudies rose to the challenge.
After drawing 2-2 at Anfield to force a replay, the Wolves were furious when Toti’s potential game-winning goal was controversially disallowed in the dying seconds for offside.
Despite a lively start that saw Raul Jimenez head Adama Traore’s cross just wide, they were unable to take advantage of their opportunity to exact revenge.
In the 13th minute, Eliott produced the breathtaking opening goal It has been assumed that Klopp’s midfield is old and past its best this season.
However, the 19-year-old Elliott provides hope for the future, as evidenced by his unimpeded run from the halfway line and superb strike from 25 yards over Jose Sa.
The quality of Elliott’s first goal since October should not be diminished by the fact that tenacious Liverpool Sa was caught off guard.
Liverpool was playing with more vigor and tenacity than they had in recent weeks, snapping into tackles and winning second balls.
In his third appearance since joining Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven, Gakpo was still looking for his first goal.
With a dipping volley that flew just wide, the forward for the Netherlands almost broke his duck.
Salah took Gakpo’s place for the final 25 minutes, but Wolves came out on top with a strong finish that saw Ruben Neves’ free kick narrowly missed the crossbar.
When Jimenez failed to head home on the goalline from Traore’s cross because Joe Gomez made the crucial block, the Wolves had their best chance to draw level.
Elsewhere, Championship team Birmingham overcame a scare to defeat third-tier Forest Green 2-1.
Ben Stevenson’s brilliant long-range goal gave Forest Green the lead after eight minutes in a third-round match that was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
However, Birmingham scored in the 50th minute through Lukas Jutkiewicz, and League One’s bottom club was eliminated by Kevin Long 15 minutes later.
Luton defeated Wigan 2-1, West Brom defeated Chesterfield 4-0, and Bristol City defeated Swansea 2-1.