John Aldridge reflects on Liverpool’s nervy win over Wolves and the performances of Florian Wirtz and Federico Chiesa in the first half of his weekly ECHO column
Liverpool got the job done against Wolves on Saturday but it was another ugly win, wasn’t it? We were a bit disjointed, and not for the first time.
To go in at half-time with two goals, and quick-fire goals before the break too, that will have been a right downer for Wolves. We should have capitalised on it. I don’t know what was said at half-time but we came out like a completely different team. There was no leadership at all.
The game was there for the taking. We could have won by three or four but instead we were a bag of nerves after they got one back.
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They get a corner and come on! Every corner is a nightmare. Whoever is on set-pieces, they need to look in the mirror.
You need to organise and get in the players’ heads. It’s now every corner. Alisson saves it, does well, but all the players are on the wrong side and none of them are alert to the danger. Words fail you.
We let them back in the game. We’re jittery. They should have equalised. Liverpool can be happy with the result but better teams would capitalise on us.
At least it’s a win but next time, against better opposition, we might not have enough.
I watched Leeds against Sunderland. Again it will be long throws, corners, set-pieces, long-balls. They’ve got a bit of pace upfront too.
They’ll cause us problems, especially if we don’t address these ongoing issues that have been bugging us all season.
Going with the Flo – but Chiesa missed his chance
That first goal for Florian Wirtz was going to come, wasn’t it? I’ve watched him for some time.
He’s a player. He reminds me of Peter Beardsley. He’s bright, he’s smart, but he needed that goal. It was playing on his mind. It’ll be a relief to him and he can build on it now for sure.
He’s linking up in the right areas with Hugo Ekitike. It’s good to see. There will definitely be more to come from him, from both of them.
Alexander Isak will come back too. When you’re a striker, you need service and Wirtz certainly provides that.
It’s because of Isak’s absence and some of the other players that we saw Federico Chiesa start on Saturday.
He always gives you 100%. But he’s devoid of match fitness so we couldn’t expect much more from him against Wolves.
They’re the worst team in the league, so it was an opportunity for him. But he’s only played a bit-part role since joining the club. It was only his second Premier League start in 18 months.
I don’t want to make excuses for him but you can’t expect much more. He’s only played a bit-part role and while he gets his start, it’s not easy considering where we are as a team at the moment.
It’s not easy to come in and be a star. At the moment he’s an impact player. You can bring him on and he can make things happen in 15 or 20 minutes.
It’s harder to do that from the start when you’ve not had the opportunities before. He’ll still get chances off the bench, certainly now that Isak is injured.
But if Arne Slot doesn’t fancy him, he won’t have done enough to convince him that he should be starting games more regularly.
He’s not the only one who hasn’t been playing much though. I don’t know what’s happened with Rio Ngumoha. He’s not getting any minutes of late.
Maybe it’s because of where we are and how we’ve been struggling in recent months. He’d offer a bit of pace and trickery off the bench, but for whatever reason, Arne hasn’t turned to him.
We need players back from injury. Hopefully Joe Gomez is back soon. We’re only a couple short now. The bench isn’t as good as it could be but it’s at least been enough to get by.
Oh, his name is Diogo
It was a lovely moment seeing Diogo Jota’s two young sons run out and kick a ball about with Virgil van Dijk. The last time they’d have been out on that pitch in front of everyone, their father was lifting the Premier League trophy.
But to see them there, it brings it back all back too, all the emotions. All you can do is show respect and support for the family. What they’ve gone through is absolutely horrific.
Your heart goes out to them, especially at this time of year. You can’t imagine how hard it has been for them.
It was nice to see the kids and family back at Anfield though. It was a memory for them kids and a way to remember their dad too.
60,000 people, from both clubs, showing their utmost respect for their dad. It’s something they can hold on to, to see how much Diogo Jota means to so many people.
