Ian Doyle with the talking points from Liverpool’s Premier League win over Wolves at Anfield on Saturday afternoon
When Jeremie Frimpong was brought to Liverpool in the summer, the expectation was the Dutchman could help provide cover for Mohamed Salah during the Egyptian’s sojourn at the Africa Cup of Nations. An impressive second-half cameo at Tottenham Hotspur last week, including an assist for Hugo Ekitike’s crucial second goal, hinted at what could come.
But it was at right-back that Frimpong here made his first Premier League start since his full debut in the competition against Bournemouth on the opening weekend.
With Wolves happy to sit back, the former Bayer Leverkusen man needed no second invitation to push forward and demonstrate his pace and cutting edge.
And those qualities were pivotal in Frimpong, largely through his own work, unlocking the Wolves defence with a thrusting run past several players down the right before assisting compatriot Gravenberch for the opener.
Once Conor Bradley was introduced shortly after the hour, Frimpong was pushed further upfield to demonstrate the versatility down the right Liverpool have missed during his spells on the sidelines.
If keeping Frimpong fit will be key for the Reds over the coming weeks, on the other flank Milos Kerkez showed further evidence of being fully settled at Liverpool with a determined display in which his unorthodox ways of keeping possession were enthusiastically received by the home crowd.
Slot’s Chiesa stance justified
The cult of Federico Chiesa has been one of the more curious aspects of the Liverpool fanbase during the past 18 months.
Rarely has adoration for a player been less proportionate to his number of minutes on the pitch and overall impact.
But with the absentee list continuing to lengthen, Arne Slot had no option but to hand the Italian only his second-ever Premier League start and just the seventh in all competitions since arriving at Anfield in summer of 2024.
The lack of regular action meant it was always going to be asking much for Chiesa to make a considerable contribution from the beginning compared to as substitute when legs elsewhere are becoming tired.
The disappointing display from the Italian, though, served only to justify why Slot has been so reluctant to afford him minutes in the top flight.
Indeed, the biggest impact from Chiesa was a flailing elbow on the jaw of Tolu Arokodare that could easily have resulted in a greater censure than just a free-kick.
With Cody Gakpo now back available, it’ll be interesting to see when crowd favourite Chiesa is next seen as Premier League starter.
Alisson thwarted
Alisson Becker’s wait goes on. The goalkeeper remains one short of a century of Premier League clean sheets for Liverpool after an all-too-familiar failing made an unwelcome festive appearance.
The concession from yet another set-piece meant that, as at Tottenham Hotspur the previous weekend, what should have been a straightforward victory was transformed into a nerve-jangling stutter to the final whistle.
Not that Alisson was at fault for the Wolves goal, saving well from Tolo Arokodare only for the ball to fall invitingly for Santiago Bueno to score.
And while Ibrahima Konate, making his 100th league appearance, had been outjumped by Arokodare from the left-wing corner, the finger couldn’t really be pointed at the Frenchman this time either. The failing appears a collective one.
The term “negative set-piece balance” has become something of a trademark of Arne Slot in recent weeks, and while the Reds are having no real issues scoring from open play – only Manchester City have more in the Premier League – their lack of threat at dead-balls in the Premier League remains a serious drawback.
Nevertheless, so continues Liverpool’s remarkable December record, having now lost just one of their last 55 league games played during the month. This latest win made for a belated but welcome Christmas present.
