Relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers humiliated Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday with a 3-0 win over the misfiring Reds, who are yet to win in the Premier League this year.
Wolves cut through Liverpool‘s shaky defence from the off, missing two good chances before a Hwang Hee-Chan cutback went in off the heel of Joel Matip for a 5th minute own goal.
Minutes later, Wolves debutant Craig Dawson lashed in the second unmarked from close range after the ball bounced off Cody Gakpo in another spell of sloppy defending by the visitors.
A fired-up Liverpool started the second half strongly, but Ruben Neves effectively ended the contest in the 71st minute, controlling then prodding the ball in at the end of a scintillating counter-attack from the home side.
Defeat left Liverpool 10th on 29 points after a terrible start to 2023 in which they have won just one of seven matches – against Wolves in the FA Cup – in all competitions.
MISERABLE STATS
After coming close to a historic quadruple last season, where they won two domestic cups and were runners-up in both the Champions League and Premier League, Klopp’s injury-hit and confidence-shorn team are a shadow of their former selves.
The result was the first time in a decade that Liverpool have lost three consecutive Premier League away games. They have conceded more goals in the Premier League this season – 28 in 21 games – than they did in the whole of last season.
Victory eased Wolves’ fears of a drop to the second-tier Championship, lifting them to 15th position on 20 points, two ahead of the bottom three, and left their ecstatic fans serenading every touch in the final minutes as Liverpool‘s player hung their heads.
“We love super Lopetegui,” the Molineux crowd sang to their Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui.
Liverpool‘s miserable-looking German manager Klopp, meanwhile, had to endure what for him is an unaccustomed taunt: “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.
