Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 at the weekend but they can’t afford to repeat their performance against Wolves.
That 2-0 win thrilled all Liverpool fans, and understandably so. It was a win over the old rivals and came with the perfect ending as Mohamed Salah finally slotted past David de Gea.
But there was another side to the game – frustration. Liverpool should have put things to bed a long, long time before that. Salah missed an absolute sitter right after half-time, Jordan Henderson hit the post, Sadio Mane had chances.
Liverpool, having put United 1-0 down thanks to Virgil van Dijk, couldn’t find that killer second goal, though. Until stoppage time, of course.
Things cannot go the same way on Thursday, though. Liverpool survived their inability to get their second goal because United couldn’t make them pay – Wolves will.
Nuno Espirito Santos’s side have only led for 305 minutes this season (stats per the BBC). That’s quite staggering for a team in sixth place. Liverpool, by contrast, have led for 1,160 minutes.
But Wolves’ season is built on their ability to hit back and hit back late. They’ve won 18 points from losing positions this season – seven more than anyone else – and scored 68% of their goals in the second half. Again, that’s a league-high.
So the Reds have to kill the game as quickly as possible because if they don’t, chances are they’ll drop points. If Liverpool don’t put their chances away, Wolves will make them pay, unlike United.
There is no better team at making teams pay than Liverpool’s opponents on Thursday, after all.
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