Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he got the reaction he wanted after Harvey Elliott’s sublime strike put is troubled team back on track with a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round replay.
Klopp’s side came in for scathing criticism after losing their past two English Premier League games in desultory fashion at Brighton & hove Albion and Brentford, but Elliott’s brilliant long-range effort in the first half at Molineux secured a much-needed first victory in four games in all competitions.
Ironically, Liverpool’s reward for seeing off Wolves is a return trip to Brighton in the fourth round.
Photo: Reuters
The Reds’ dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday left them languishing in ninth place in the Premier League, 10 points adrift of the top four.
In the bout of soul-searching that followed that embarrassment, Klopp said his struggling team needed to go “back to basics.”
“It feels like ages ago that we had that feeling that we win and play well,” Klopp said. “We played a really good first half, and in the end it was just passion to block the shots. It’s the reaction we wanted to see from ourselves and the boys delivered.”
“The goal was exceptional. I don’t want to make Harvey’s performance smaller, but I had a few men of the match today, just the others didn’t score,” he said.
Amid mounting questions about Klopp’s future at Anfield, the German said this week that he would not leave the club unless he is forced to, and hinted at changes in his squad during the summer.
Hamstrung by injuries to a host of key players, including Virgil van Dijk and Luis Diaz, Klopp made eight changes after the Brighton debacle, with only Cody Gakpo, Thiago Alcantara and Ibrahima Konate retaining their places.
Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker were among those left out, but Liverpool’s understudies rose to the challenge.
Wolves had forced the replay with a 2-2 draw at Anfield, but Julen Lopetegui’s side were angered when they had a potential winning goal from Toti controversially ruled out for offside in the final seconds.
They were unable to take their chance to avenge that injustice, despite a lively start that saw Adama Traore’s cross headed just wide by Raul Jimenez.
It was Eliott who produced the opener in breathtaking fashion in the 13th minute.
Klopp’s midfield has been written off as aging and past their best this season, but the 19-year-old Elliott offers hope for the future, a point he underlined by running unchecked from the halfway line before blasting a superb strike over Jose Sa from 23m.
Sa was caught too far off his line, but that should not detract from the quality of Elliott’s first goal since October.
Elsewhere, UEFA Championship side Birmingham City survived a scare in their 2-1 win at third-tier Forest Green Rovers.
Bristol City won 2-1 at Swansea City, while Luton Town beat Wigan Athletci 2-1 and West Bromwich Albion thrashed Chesterfield 4-0.
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