Liverpool drew 2-2 at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night at Anfield. The result means the two sides will meet once again in a replay that would determine who advances to the fourth round of the competition.
Wolves took the lead in the 26th minute after a howl from Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker who, trying to play from behind, passed it straight to Goncalo Guedes. The 26-year-old striker made the most of it by scoring to the delight of the traveling team.
Wolves were the better of the two teams in the first half but failed to make their dominance count when Liverpool restored parity on the stroke of half time.
Trent Alexander Arnold played in a brilliant high ball from the right flank that Darwin Núñez finished off emphatically. The Uruguayan forward judged the flight of the ball perfectly and timed his one-touch finish past Matija Sarkic into the Wolves goal.
Liverpool came out better from both sides after the break and took the lead in the 52nd minute after a mistake by Wolves defender Toti Gomes, who missed his header trying to clear Alexander-Arnold’s cross. Mohammed Salah pounced on the ball, adjusted his feet and scored to the delight of the Anfield faithful.
Wolves should have made it two in the 58th minute when Rayan Ait Nouri moved on target, but Alisson redeemed himself by blocking the shot on goal. Núñez had a couple of chances to put the game past Wolves, but the traveling team determined some serious resistance by restoring parity in the 66th minute.
Substitute Hwang Hee-chan slotted his shot past Alisson from close range after playing a one-two with Matheus Cunha to shock Liverpool that night. Julen Lopetegui’s men must have thought they had the winning goal when Gomes scored on 82′ but the VAR ruled for offside on the play. Both teams went for the game-winning goal, but it was not to be as the match ended level and a replay would be necessary to determine which side would go through.
On the result, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “I think it was a good dominant start with some very good football moments and then we concede. The goal must not happen. We come back with a fantastic draw, everything is clear. Then again, it’s a dominant performance until they get a little involved in the game and we don’t put up enough challenges. So it is very difficult and they caused us problems. We scored a second goal, good, but we had problems”.
Photo: IMAGO / Propaganda Photo
