Robertson leads Reds to comeback victory in the Black Country
Wolves 1 Liverpool 3, 16th September 2023.
Wolves 1 Liverpool 3, 16th September 2023.
WOLVES 1 (Hee-chan 7)
LIVERPOOL 3 (Gakpo 55, Robertson 85, Bueno own goal 90+1)
Yesterday’s 3–1 victory in the more commonly known “Black Country” of the English midlands was both a much needed come from behind win as well as the cliche to end them all, a “game of two halves”.
Make no mistake, the Reds were utterly abject as well as equally utterly dreadful in a first half whereby their albeit makeshift defence was pulled to ribbons time and time again by the skilful wing play of Pedro Neto (who gave Joe Gomez a torrid first 45 minutes) and the surging runs of debutant Jeanricner Bellegarde. Neto’s jinking run and cross presented Hwang Hee-chan with the easiest of opening goals on 7 minutes before providing an even easier chance for Brazilian striker Matheus Cunha on 34 minutes that necessitated the scoring of the easiest of all possible goals. Thankfully for the Reds Cunha fluffed his lines horribly but had he taken his chance and made the score line at half-time 2–0 in favour of the home team Wolves, no-one, not even someone with the Reddest of Liverpool hearts could have disputed the veracity of the score line.
In fact, 3–0 Wolves at half-time would have been a fairer reflection of their utter, front foot dominance and control of a game that Liverpool had simply not started.
At all.
Shorn of both their new skipper Virgil van Dijk due to suspension and new vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold to a continuing niggling injury, the defensive back 4 was indeed a makeshift affair but no blame for their first half frailties can be attributed to their 20 year old central defender Jarell Quansah. Calm. Assured. Even a little daring with his Joël Matip type forays forward into midfield, the kid looks a player and here’s to the avoidance of that dastardly spectre of long term injuries for the Warrington born youngster who can only improve immeasurably next to Matip (who was superb yesterday) as well as his skipper and Ibrahima Konaté. Joe Gomez had a sterling second half as frankly his chief tormentor Pedro Neto faded, and faded badly, alongside his Wolves team who were unrecognisable in the second period of play.
From the very first shrill of the referee’s whistle to commence the second 45 minutes yesterday, the Reds were immediately, in the footballing vernacular, “at it” with the half-time substitution of a particularly poor Alexis Mac Allister with the Colombian wizard Luis Díaz and soon after introduction of the crazy chaos that surrounds the Reds new Number 9 Darwin Núñez, a masterstroke from the boss, Jürgen Klopp.
A number 7 and number 9 combining for some sheer footballing poetry for the Reds of Liverpool?
Keep still my beating heart!
That silly sentiment is also shared with another of my Liverpool loves and stand-in skipper, Andy Robertson. So unfairly maligned within the madness of social media, his performance yesterday was yet again another thumb in the eye of his internet detractors. The Scotland captain may not score many but when he does, his raw and emotional reaction to every goal is a joy to behold and yesterday was no different. With 5 minutes to go, this was THE goal of the game with Robertson volley-controlling a poor clearance from Wolves goalkeeper José Sá perfectly in a running stride before a one-two pass with Mo Salah saw the stand-in skipper slide a perfect instant shot past a startled Wolves goalkeeper.
Shall we just skip over a woeful 45 minutes from Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai too but whom improved greatly and very impressively in the second half after giving the ball away more times in 45 minutes than in his entire Reds career to date? Joe Gomez won’t want to see the shadow of Pedro Neto any time soon either but let’s instead marvel at Mo Salah, now freed from the shackles and defensive doggedness of Rayan Aït-Nouri to provide a hat-trick (but only officially two) assists, Cody Gakpo’s equalising goal (before immediately being substituted!) the chaos magic and one-two touches and tricks of Messrs Díaz and Núñez, the calm assured display of Joël Matip beside 20 year old Jarell Quansah and luxuriate in Andy Robertson’s decisive goal as well as Harvey Elliott, leaping over the advertising boards ala Kenny Dalglish at Wembley in 1978?
Or shall we just sing another ode to Andy Robertson and see what the boss thought of it all?
“Ohhhhhhhh Andy, Andy
Andy, Andy, Andy, Andy Robertson”
A final word from The Boss
“Oh, I thought in the first half a couple of times, what the… We were not ready first half obviously, but Wolves did really well on top of that. You could see it in these situations when they threw three players into the box and we were not there, the last step not there. I worked with these boys now, with some of them a few weeks, seven, eight or nine weeks, with some longer — I know when they can they are there. Today they couldn’t in a lot of moments. You saw it with Macca, saw it with other players, they didn’t have the legs today”.
“But I know as well after a long time if you can get through a first half with a reasonable result, like not being massively down, you can turn it. But the team needed help and thankfully we could deliver the help a little bit with a change and a change of system and these kinds of things. Obviously completely different halves. You saw pretty much the same players first half looked a bit rusty and second half the boys were… it looked much easier. Wolves played a super first half, we a really bad one. Second half we were really good, controlled the game and kept going and scored one and then not directly the second so we needed a while. But we stayed calm, I liked that a lot, it was no rush, we didn’t kick balls somewhere, we really tried to play around, break lines. So, 3–1 is a result I didn’t expect after 20 minutes and maybe not in half-time, but during the second half we deserved the result, and so that’s fine”.
Thanks for reading. Here are my three previous match reports on the Mighty Reds of Liverpool from this season:
Trent Alexander-Arnold and a stroll in the Liverpool sunshine
Liverpool 3 Aston Villa 0, 3rd September 2023.medium.com
Núñez at the double as 10 man Reds stun Newcastle
Newcastle United 1 Liverpool 2, 27th August 2023.medium.com
Szoboszlai and Díaz sparkle for 10 man Reds
Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 1, 19th August 2023.medium.com