We’ve already covered what Liverpool’s FA Cup fifth-round win over Wolverhampton Wanderers means for Blank Gameweek 34 – so now let’s look at what else occurred at Molineux on Friday.
RESULT
| Home | Away | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Liverpool | 1-3 | Hwang | Robertson, Salah, Jones | Johnstone | Jones, Robertson, Gravenberch |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM GAMEWEEK 29 | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 | Tchatchoua (90), S Bueno (90), J Gomes (90), Mane (90), A Gomes (61) | Johnstone (90), Mosquera (90), Bellegarde (90), H Bueno (88), Arokodare (75), Toti (75), Armstrong (29), Hwang (15), R Gomes (15), Moller Wolfe (2) |
| Liverpool | 4 | Alisson (90), Szoboszlai (90), Gravenberch (90), Gakpo (86), Mac Allister (82), van Dijk (81), Salah (69) | Jones (90), Gomez (90), Robertson (90), Ngumoha (69), Wirtz (21), Frimpong (21), Konate (9), Nyoni (8), Morrison (4) |
WIRTZ RETURNS FROM INJURY + SLOT WELCOMES ABILITY TO ROTATE
Probably the big headline from the night was the return from injury of Florian Wirtz (£8.3m).
Sidelined with a back problem since pulling out of the starting XI in Gameweek 27, he reappeared as a substitute at Molineux.
Wirtz now has a UEFA Champions League tie against Galatasaray to come to further build his fitness. Then, it’s the plum home fixture against Tottenham Hotspur – arguably the league’s weakest defence on current form – in Gameweek 30.
Wirtz’s recovery puts Cody Gakpo‘s (£7.3m) expected minutes in more doubt, after a 10-match run in the starting XI. The German is just as at home in the ’10’, of course, but then you have Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.9m) – assuming he’s not at right-back as much now – and Alexis Mac Allister (£6.2m) to accommodate centrally. Curtis Jones (£5.4m), who curled in Liverpool’s third strike, was in ‘the hole’ on Friday.
All in all, some welcome selection headaches for Arne Slot – something he hasn’t had for large chunks of the season.
“Yeah, it’s nice to have players available again and not only 12, 13 or 14. I haven’t spoken about it a lot. I don’t think I spoke at all about that, but now we have them back, maybe I can say something about it. These same players constantly had to play every three days and then sometimes that impacts also performance.
“I think it’s as you see everywhere at Premier League side that have to play so many games, you see more rotation, but that wasn’t always able. That’s why I respect these players that had to play so much a lot and that they could not always bring their best performance makes sense to me, then.
“So, it’s good that today we could rotate a little bit more and with players coming back and players that came in doing really well, makes it for me easier to rotate but also to impact the game off the bench.” – Arne Slot
NIGHT OFF FOR EKITIKE
If your Liverpool asset is to be rotated, you’d want it to happen in the cup competitions.
That’s what happened at Molineux as Hugo Ekitike (£9.1m) was not only named on the bench but spared action entirely.
Gakpo led the line instead. The Dutchman was, like many of his teammates, poor in the first half but actually ended up having a half-decent game as the ‘nine’, involved in the build-up for the Reds’ first two strikes.
“Cody twice played a very good role in the first two goals we scored.” – Arne Slot on Cody Gakpo
Jeremie Frimpong (£5.7m), Ibrahima Konate (£5.5m) and Milos Kerkez (£5.6m) were also rested, albeit with the first two coming off the bench.
With Frimpong given a breather and Joe Gomez (£4.9m) at centre-half, Szoboszlai was back at right-back. With Frimpong and Gomez fit again, however, the Hungarian shouldn’t see nearly as much action at full-back going forward.
NGUMOHA THE STAND-OUT AS SALAH SCORES AGAIN
Another (long-term) threat to Gakpo on the left is the exciting Rio Ngumoha (£4.3m).
He was arguably Liverpool’s stand-out player on the night, playing with the carefree abandon you’d expect from a 17-year-old.
Leading the way for take-ons (four) and shots (four), Ngumoha was the brightest spark in a humdrum first half.
Still, Slot has yet to start him in the Premier League or the Champions League. It simply might just be that he’s trying to keep Ngumoha’s feet on the ground but the Liverpool boss’s praise is never unqualified when it comes to the teenager. Don’t hold your breath for a Gameweek 30 start, as excellent as he was here.
“Good. I think it’s special if you’re a 17-year-old and you play in a Premier League match. I know it’s an FA Cup match, but two Premier League sides playing against each other. If you’re then able already to impact it with some very good one-v-one situations, that is also what makes him special because there are not many players in the modern football that can take one-v-ones on. That’s something he can. He also – in my opinion – did better than three days ago because he kept the ball more. Three days ago he lost it a few times as well. So, three days ago he also had his impact with his actions.
“Today he had it as well but was even better in moments where he had to keep the ball. [It’s a] nice game because you face five defenders. For a winger you only have to go to one of the three centre-backs, or defensively you don’t have to do as much as when you face four defenders. It was also a nice moment for him to use all his energy for the attacking part and not having to defend as much as when you have to do that when you play against the four at the back.” – Arne Slot on Rio Ngumoha
On the opposite flank, Mohamed Salah (£14.0m) made it back-to-back goals. Meeting the excellent Andrew Robertson‘s (£5.7m) low centre to find the net, he also played a big part in the left-back’s strike, feeding the assister, Jones, after a slaloming run.
Salah was another attacker to flit in and out of the game, especially before the break. Still, he’s always been a ‘moments’ player (even in his pomp, he could be wasteful or anonymous before curling one in from the edge of the box) and successive goals should alleviate any pressure.
Gameweek 30 punt, anyone?
“I think it’s also important for attackers to score because if they don’t score over a long time, they’re maybe starting to force it or going to do different things. So, the more they score, the less they are going to force it and that’s why it’s important for our attackers either to score or be part of the lead-up to a goal.” – Arne Slot on Mohamed Salah
WOLVES CAN CONCENTRATE ON THE LEAGUE…
So, no Blank or Double Gameweek for Wolves now, with their cup involvement over.
Rob Edwards’ side can, er, concentrate on the league, or at least do what they’ve been doing recently, salvaging some dignity from a rancid season.
Wolves have actually been decent of late, sitting 10th in the six-match form table. In only one of their last 15 Premier League matches have they conceded more than two goals.
Here, however, Edwards admitted that “the better team won”. The hosts had only four shots all night, one of which was Hwang Hee-chan‘s (£5.6m) late consolation.
Jose Sa (£4.2m), as expected, was rested to help him deal with an ongoing ankle problem.
