Liverpool bounced back from their recent defeat to Wolves with a 3-1 win at Molineux to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Arne Slot’s side had been beaten in stoppage-time in the Premier League fixture between the teams on Tuesday but early second-half goals from Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah put them in control before Curtis Jones scored a sumptuous third.
Hee-Chan Hwang grabbed a late consolation but Liverpool were rewarded for their strong team selection, having made fewer changes than Rob Edwards did to the Wolves line-up. The commanding victory secures their spot in Monday’s draw for the last eight.
How it unfolded at Molineux
Although Cody Gakpo headed against the bar from an offside position early on, the early pattern of the game was remarkably similar to the previous meeting between the teams. Liverpool were on top, having all 11 shots in the first half, but created little of note.
It opened up quickly after the interval thanks to Robertson’s rocket of a shot from the edge of the penalty box and the Scottish left-back produced the moment of quality that unlocked Wolves again just moments later when his cross found Salah at the back post.
The assistant referee initially ruled the goal offside but VAR corrected the call. On a night when teenager Rio Ngumoha received an opportunity from the start, it was two veterans in red who made the difference for the visitors. Jones then put the seal on it.
For Wolves, there will be no cup joy. It is back to the toil of the Premier League for the bottom club. For Liverpool, the win serves as a confidence boost ahead of a Champions League tie away to Galatasaray on Tuesday. It is seven wins in nine now for the Reds.
Liverpool players celebrate Curtis Jones’ third goal in their win at Wolves
Robertson: It was up to us to put it right
Man of the match Andy Robertson speaking to BBC Sport:
“I couldn’t have hit it much better, no. It’s quite rare, but it opened up and thankfully I hit it clean – most of them usually go over the bar. I’m glad I managed to get one in the net.
“That was a bit more like it. We know we let ourselves down on Tuesday. It was not the performance we expect of ourselves.
“It’s very rare you get to play the same team three days later, so it was up to us to go and put it right. The FA Cup is do-or-die, you’re in or you’re out and thankfully we’re in the quarter-finals.”
More to follow…
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