Wolves force replay against Liverpool after Alisson blunder

Liverpool goalkeeper Allison

FA CUP Wolves force replay against Liverpool after Alisson blunder

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 23:20 - 07.01.2023

Liverpool were forced into an FA Cup replay by a resilient Wolves side, who secured a 2-2 draw at Anfield despite being denied by a contentious offside decision.

Liverpool vs Wolves team news

After watching his side lose to Brentford in their previous outing, Jurgen Klopp elected to name a strong lineup, while Julen Lopetegui made nine changes to his Wolves side. Cody Gakpo, who recently completed a move from PSV Eindhoven was in the side from the start. 

Liverpool vs Wolves first half

Liverpool began the game on the front foot and Cody Gakpo was looking to make an immediate impact on his debut with a driven strike that was comfortably saved by Wolves keeper, Matija Sarkic.

With Virgil van Dijk injured, there was always a feeling that the Reds would need to make such chances count, and that was only strengthened when Wolves went ahead on 26 minutes via a goalkeeping error.

Goncalo Guedes celebrates after opening the scoring for Wolves against Liverpool
Goncalo Guedes celebrates after opening the scoring for Wolves against Liverpool

Alisson played a loose pass that was intercepted by Goncalo Guedes, who gladly accepted the gift by rolling the ball into an empty net and giving Wolves a shock lead on Merseyside.

With Liverpool on the ropes, a confident Guedes attempted to double the advantage, letting fly from distance with a dipping effort that was smartly saved by a fully-stretched Alisson

Despite spending the majority of the first half on the back foot, the Reds showed their quality on the stroke of half time, when Trent Alexander-Arnold played a perfect pass to Darwin Nunez, who produced a sublime first-time finish into the bottom corner to put the hosts level.

Darwin Nunez scores for Liverpool against Wolves in the FA Cup
Darwin Nunez scores for Liverpool against Wolves in the FA Cup

Liverpool vs Wolves second half

A reinvigorated Liverpool side required just seven second-half minutes to turn the contest completely on its head, with Mohamed Salah calmly slotting past Sarkic after benefitting from a poor defensive header by Wolves defender Toti.

Julen Lopetegui attempted to fight back with a triple change and it proved to be an ingenious move, as two of the substitutes – Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan combined well for the latter to bundle the ball home. The goal tied things at 2-2 to force a replay at the Molineux.

Hwang Hee Chan scores to equalise for Wolves
Hwang Hee Chan scores to equalise for Wolves
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