Paul Gorst delivers his verdict as the Reds edged out rock-bottom Wolves to earn a third straight Premier League win
So, how best to judge Liverpool as they approach the halfway point of their campaign? This was a win that showed flashes of promise and plenty of concern, pretty much encapsulating the season so far in the process.
The Reds might have extended their run to seven games without defeat en route to a third straight Premier League triumph but a better side than Wolves might have punished their failure to kill off their opponents when they had their chance.
Even against the worst side in the division, who are without a win all season, a large portion of this game was spent living on the edge. It was all so needless.
Hugo Ekitike struck the post after a razor-sharp through ball from the excellent Florian Wirtz but it took 40 minutes for the breakthrough to come via Ryan Gravenberch, who side footed home from Jeremie Frimpong’s cut-back.
The blue-shirted sea stayed behind the ball and invited the pressure but Ekitike had little support around the penalty area, despite Wirtz constantly staying on the move to find pockets of space.
For a side who skirted the edges of a half billion in transfer expenditure in the summer, the Reds look threadbare up top right now.
The return of Cody Gakpo is a welcome boost but with Mohamed Salah now set to contest the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations and Alexander Isak beginning the long road back from a broken leg, the champions are in need of the cavalry, even with Federico Chiesa to call upon here for just his second ever Premier League start.
Some of the support may yet come via the transfer market next month but it was the ideal time for Wirtz to open his account for his new club. Barely seconds after Gravenberch had registered, the Germany playmaker doubled the advantage when he poked home past Jose Sa.
The noise of anticipation around Anfield as Wirtz latched on to the through ball from Ekitike spoke to just how much the supporters have been willing their £116m attacking midfielder on.
At the 23rd time of asking, the goal was his and it was just reward for what has been a fine month personally for a player who has steadily grown in influence in recent weeks. It was the first time since the Merseyside derby, in September, that Liverpool had scored twice in the first half of a Premier League game.
The moving of Wirtz from a central area to the left side, where he is given ample encouragement to roam, has been an inspired tactical tweak from Slot, even if it was fashioned out of desperation at the end of a chastening November. This was what they paid the money for, now to continue doing it. His standing ovation was richly deserved late on.
And full credit to Frimpong on what was just his second Premier League start of the season. The Netherlands international may not have been overly taxed from a defensive standpoint but it was his speed and direct running that opened up the visitors’ defence on 41 minutes for Gravenberch to slot home. Back-to-back hamstring injuries have dampened his early months at Anfield but now is the time for him to push on.
Slot has needed little invitation to bemoan his side’s inability to defend set-pieces this season, often turning the topic of conversation towards dead-balls even when unprompted by the media, so it will have grated on him no end when the visitors pilfered one back through Santiago Bueno after Alisson Becker had made an initial save after the restart.
How much healthier would Liverpool’s position look after 18 games if they hadn’t developed a soft underbelly when defending corners and long throws into the area? This was the 12th time they have shipped a goal from a corner. A startling statistic.
Time on the training pitch is usually scant at this time of the year but some attention needs to be paid towards improving their defending. It is holding back this side from proper progress, even if the results haven’t suffered much during a generally much improved December. Set-piece coach Aaron Briggs needs to see a big upturn in the New Year.
The goal, from nothing, suddenly led to a more nervy atmosphere which filtered down onto the pitch. The fear of shedding another two-goal advantage clearly grips this team and given it has happened four times already this term, it’s easy to see why they worry lighting might strike once more.
Tolu Arokodare headed a good chance over for Rob Edwards’s side as they sought an unlikely parity and the sight of Ibrahima Konate attempting to stir up the crowd inside the final 10 minutes was a big indicator as to how the players needed that anxiety to disappear in the closing stages.
For the second week running, the Reds were made to dig deep to hold on to a slender 2-1 lead and it is their lack of a ruthless streak when the tails are up that is holding back Slot’s players from putting the sort of breathing space between them and their opposition that he would like.
Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes embarked on an ambitious summer that saw them bring in the likes of Wirtz, Ekitike and Isak in an effort to make games more straightforward but with halfway mark in sight, there have been very few easy days at the office for the Reds, even if they are now unbeaten in seven across all competitions.
Developing that ability to kill teams off with the decisive, result-securing moments when they are at their highest point of games, confidence-wise, will be key in the second half. That is the next string to add to the bow as they continue to emerge from that horrorshow between late September and November, when virtually everything was under the microscope.
Slot has regularly professed that the second best time to judge a team is 19 games into their season. Whatever happens next then, against Leeds United on New Year’s Day, a charge for the Champions League places in 2026 at least looks like a safe bet.
