Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool – as it happened

Liverpool have a mixed record over Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent years. They sealed the league title at Molineux in 1976, but since then there hasn't been so much for the Reds to shout about in their dealings with the Wolves. They've not won in Wolverhampton since 1978, when King Kenny scored twice in a 3-1 win. Their record against them at Anfield isn't so bad - seven wins from nine - but the two defeats have been ignominious: a 1-0 loss in Wolves' relegation season of 1983/84, and that sorry capitulation just after Christmas, the penultimate nail in the coffin of managerial cadaver Roy Hodgson. All of which lumps the pressure on Liverpool a bit. If they lose this one - and remember Wolves have already seen off Chelsea and Manchester City at Molineux - it'll be the first time since 1954 they've lost six away league games in a row. And look what happened to them then. Kick off: 12.45pm. Wolverhampton Wanderers, with former Liverpool starlet Adam Hammill making his debut on the bench, waiting to come on for the predictable denouement: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, Milijas, Hunt, Doyle, Fletcher. Subs: Hahnemann, Craddock, David Jones, Vokes, Hammill, Mouyokolo, Davis. Liverpool, starring Christian Poulsen: Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson, Kuyt, Lucas, Poulsen, Meireles, Maxi, Torres. Subs: Gulacsi, Aurelio, Cole, Pacheco, Kyrgiakos, Spearing, Shelvey. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) Meanwhile, what's that sound? PsssssssswwwwwwiiiiissssssssssccccchhhOOF. Gah! What is it?! It's the sound of Rafael Benitez furiously washing his hands of Liverpool's current predicament, then sticking the boot into hapless old Roy, that's what! "We know we made some mistakes," he's told BBC Radio. "Sometimes, maybe one player is a good player and after he doesn't settle down, but if you see, we have a net spending of between 10, 12 million. So I think that this, for a top side, it's not big money. And still I would say to you that we are not happy with some of the signings but we are really pleased with the majority of them. In the team now, Pepe Reina, Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Lucas Leiva, Fernando Torres, Maxi Rodriquez, Dirk Kuyt, so it's a massive, massive team. I am not taking all the credit, I think the team is good, the problem may be the mentality. So I think Kenny can change these things and will hopefully be good for the team. But the other thing is that Christian Purslow and Hodgson, they signed seven players. Seven players is enough to change a squad, so you can take responsibility for signings in the past but seven players can change a squad. So you cannot continue with this story about the legacy. It's not my fault, sorry." The teams are out. Wolves engage in an ostentatious pre-match huddle... and we're off! Doyle and Fletcher set the ball rolling. 26 sec: After a long hoof upfield from Hennessey, there's a bout of head tennis. The ball finally touches the floor after the best part of half a minute. More, please! 2 min: Wolves have started the game in a high-tempo fashion. Jarvis hoicks a long free kick into the area, Reina claiming easily. Then Hunt looks to break down the left, but Skrtel is over to cover and the danger is gone. 4 min: Torres and Meireles combine well down the left. The striker twists and turns and wins a corner. Which is wasted. Wolves break upfield, down their left with Ward, who is immediately upended by a sliding challenge from the eternally late Christian Poulsen. He's booked. He's also a complete liability. 7 min: It's open enough, this. Wolves have started brightly, but Liverpool aren't sitting back. Poulsen sets Meireles and Torres off down the right, but Ward and Hunt combine to snuff out the move. Then Kelly breaks down the same wing, Ward again sticking to his man like glue. 9 min: A lovely move from Liverpool down the left. Johnson plays a clever reverse pass down the left to set Lucas free into miles of space. Lucas pulls a low ball back into the centre from the byline, Poulsen's effort on goal being blocked at close range by Berra. Who, incidentally, has already had a couple of stitches put into a bleeding head. 12 min: Liverpool are enjoying the lion's share of the ball here, passing it around confidently upfield, but they're still rocky at the back. Milijas has the ball on the edge of the Liverpool area and so nearly skins a very shaky looking Skrtel. He's not having a good season at all, the big defender. Eventually he manages to block-tackle the Wolves man, but he didn't look confident at all. "Do I win the prize for the one millionth e-mail to remark on how young the female assistant referee looks?" asks Gary Naylor. Keep typing and sending in emails, Naylor. That way we all know what you're doing with your hands. 15 min: Doyle attempts an elaborate chip from 25 yards out on the right wing. He so nearly manages to lob Reina, too, but the keeper backpedals at speed and handles confidently on the line. "Liverpool are so bad these days that they have opposition defenders in stitches after just five minutes?" asks Justin Kavanagh, trading these days as a one-man double act. 18 min: Nothing particularly dramatic has happened yet, but it's got a nice, open, free-flowing feel, this game. The ideal soundtrack would have a motorik beat. No aimless hoofing going on, you see. 20 min: Both teams trade corners. Neither set piece is worth mentioning in any detail whatsoever. 22 min: Great attacking play by both sides. First Jarvis nearly releases Fletcher down the middle, but Skrtel reacts well to intercept the intended pass. Liverpool immediately stream down the other end of the pitch, Meireles raking a majestic long pass from inside his own half to free Torres down the inside-right channel. Torres cuts inside Berra and is one on one with Hennessey, the keeper parrying a half-decent attempt for the bottom-left corner. That should have been the opener for Liverpool, who have been the better side here. 23 min: In nowhere land, challenging for a nothing ball, Torres and Stearman clash. There's a bit of lettuce-limp shoving, and before you know it they're frowning and shouting at each other! Oh me, oh my, they're both jolly baity! At the next stop in play, the referee comes across to calm the pair down. A pair of grown men, the state of it. 27 min: Henry sticks an arm out to block a run from Meireles. It clatters the Liverpool midfielder in the face. He goes down, and stays down for a bit. The referee isn't having any of it, it didn't look like much to be honest. But during the last few minutes, Wolves have started to put a few meaty challenges in; it'll be interesting to see how this develops. 31 min: On the edge of the area, to the right of goal, Torres backheels for Meireles in the centre. The recently clattered midfielder unleashes a superb low shot in the general direction of the bottom-left corner. He beats Hennessey's outstretched hand, but the ball sails just wide of the post. "Is the pitch as terrible as it looks in the pictures I'm watching - or is it just the pictures I'm watching?" asks Simon Hoyle, who has no truck with brevity, and why should he, there's plenty of room on the internet. Aye, it is indeed in a bit of a state, Simon. Think the 1970 FA Cup final, and there you have it. Your fellow reader Victor Lazzarini thinks it "looks like it has had a couple of rugby league games on it". I'm going to look very daft if it's had a couple of rugby league games played on it. 34 min: Liverpool have their tails up again. Now Lucas twists and turns in the box, to the left of goal, and slaps in a low effort that Hennessey scrambles away. 36 min: GOAL!!! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Liverpool. Christian Poulsen a liability? Who said that? He rolls a wonder pass straight down the inside-right channel to release Meireles into acres . At first glance, Meireles looks offside by some distance, but Zubar is miles out of position on the Wolves right and playing him on. Meireles races into the box and unselfishly rolls a pass into the centre for Torres, who slides home into an empty net. 39 min: Fletcher cuts inside from the right and wallops a shot goalwards from a central position, 25 yards out. Reina is down well to smother. A decent immediate response by Wolves, who have been second best so far by some distance. 41 min: Torres releases Maxi down the left with a reverse ball. Maxi feeds the ball back into Torres, who wallops an effort just wide left of goal. The flag goes up for offside, though. Liverpool are knocking it around very nicely. Kenny Dalglish will be very happy with the way this is going at the moment. This side aren't the best at holding onto leads, mind. 43 min: Now it's the turn of Skrtel and Hunt with the handbags. There's been a fair bit of niggle in this match, even if it has been free flowing. 45 min: A free kick's swung into the Liverpool box from the left. The central defenders don't deal with it, and Milijas finds himself with the ball at his feet, six yards out, inches to the right of goal. Reina makes the angle impossible and parries clear. That was great goalkeeping rather than a bad miss. HALF TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Liverpool. There's just enough time for Torres to pick up a booking after upending Doyle. The decision's not so much for the challenge as persistent niggling; the Liverpool striker is in a mood most charitably described as determined. And that's it for the half. Wolves were beginning to put a bit of pressure on the Liverpool defence during a frantic end to the half, lumping balls into the area that weren't being dealt with properly, so the home team go in behind, but with hope. There's the sense Liverpool will need at least one more goal if they're to hold onto a win here. Half-time analysis of Liverpool's less-than-stable defence. "Agger makes the difference to Liverpool and has done for some time," opines Nick Smith. "He may not be an immense rock defensively, but he allows the team to push further up the pitche and can set up attacks with his passing. We just lack the organisational stopper to play alongside." Meanwhile it's worth noting that the usually hapless Glen Johnson has had a decent enough half at left-back. He's also had a haircut. The long locks are no more. A statement of intent, perhaps, as he looks to get down to hard work and rebuild his tattered reputation? Maybe it's just a haircut. And we're off again! Torres sets the ball rolling for the second period. A stat from the boys on Sky Sports: the striker's now scored against every team in the Premier League bar Birmingham. Given Liverpool always lose against Birmingham, that's not going to be changing any time soon, I'm guessing. 46 min: A couple of scares, one at each end. First Jarvis diddles to the byline down the left and nearly finds Fletcher in the middle, but Reina snaffles the ball at his near post, plucking it from the sky just as the striker was ready to plant the head on it. Then down the other end a Meireles shot from the inside-right channel is scuffed, but nearly deflected into the bottom-left corner by Stearman. 48 min: Ward releases Jarvis down the left with a tasty backheel, but the resulting cross is woeful. Reina claims. 49 min: Kuyt - who I can't recall touching the ball in the first half - is put through on goal by Poulsen down the inside-left channel. He belts the ball straight at the keeper. What a terrible effort. 50 min: GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Liverpool. Kuyt's profligacy might not matter though. What a belter this is! A long ball's pinged from the left towards the edge of the Wolves area. Kuyt goes up with Stearman, and the ball drops back to Meireles, who has time to control but instead unleashes an unstoppable dipping volley into the top-right corner. That is one hell of a strike. 53 min: Liverpool are stroking it around very nicely now. Meireles, Lucas and Torres play in pretty triangles down the right, a lot of movement at speed. 54 min: But the defence still looks extremely ropey. After a minor scramble in the Liverpool area, Kelly slices a clearance, and Lucas clumsily fells Milijas on the edge of the D. It's a free kick in a very dangerous position. Sadly for Wolves, they put in a witless effort. Not sure who took the free kick, which is just as well to save their shame. It's blasted straight at the wall, whereupon Zubar lashes a nonsense effort miles over the bar from a tight angle on the right. 56 min: Ward skates down the left, reaching the byline and pulling a wonderful ball back into the centre. Maxi does well to track back and get in ahead of Milijas, who was shaping to shoot. Wolves have responded well to going two down. "Lucas Leiva has gone from figure of fun to one of the most assured passers in the league, and has stood out as a shining light while all else melts around him over the last 18 months," argues Mark Taylor. "For some reason when he first broke into the side, he couldnt operate in the same team as Gerrard, and always played better without him, dont know whether it was respect, fear or whatever, but now he is excelling." Yep, he's very good. And seems to have cut out the needless fouls which used to pepper every performance. (Let's ignore what happened a couple of minutes ago.) 58 min: Milijas and Henry roll past Poulsen in the centre, the former eventually winning himself a corner. Wolves are pushing their visitors back here. The possession stats for the last five minutes are 60-40 for the home side. 60 min: Meireles is this close to tearing clear on the Wolves goal, but Stearman gets a last-ditch toe to the through ball and prods it back to his keeper. That was superlative defending. 64 min: A miscontrol by Skrtel falls to Fletcher on the edge of the area, who sends a hellishly swerving snapshot goalwards. There's a slight deflection too, I think, and Reina does well to parry, then smother. Wolves are very much still in this match; they've been very impressive since Meireles' goal. "So does King Kenny persist without Steven Gerrard?" asks Gary Naylor. "As with England, Liverpool look more balanced, more like a team of players taking responsibility and more likely to win without his hey-look-at-me style of football." I think we all know the answer to that. But he surely won't put him back in the middle , will he? 67 min: Lucas loops a ball down the inside-left channel. Meireles - who has been Liverpool's best player by a long chalk - romps onto the pass and skelps a confident shot at goal. The ball's never beating Hennessey, though, and goes straight down the keeper's throat. That's a bit better from Liverpool, who are looking (perhaps understandably, having only won once away from home all season) slightly nervous. 70 min: Another ball down the inside-left channel nearly undoes Wolves. Maxi powers past Zubar, but chips an extremely weak effort towards goal. Hennessey claims. 73 min: Each side makes a change. Former Liverpool youth star Adam Hammill comes on to make his debut for Wolves, while for the visitors, Poulsen is replaced by Shelvey. 74 min: It's nearly a wonder substitution for Wolves, Hammill digging out a cross from the right that evades both the centre backs and forces Kelly to head clear. And then it's nearly a wonder substitution for Liverpool. Torres, his back to goal on the edge of the centre circle in his own half, spins and releases Meireles down the right. Meireles eats up the yards, then loops a pass into the centre for the marauding Shelvey, who is clear on goal but leans back and wallops his effort over the bar by miles. 76 min: Wolves are pumping ball after ball into the Liverpool area from all angles. Liverpool are looking very nervous. Fletcher pulls a pass back from the byline on the right for Hammill, who scuffs his shot, eight yards out. What a chance 79 min: Hammill has looked super-dangerous since coming on. He whips in another cross from the right, this one coming off the back of Doyle's head and spooning off high behind the goal. "In that picture, is Dalglish giving some orders to one of his team or - in the time-honoured, immature schoolboy fashion - is he baiting someone from Wolves into the hilarious 'pull my finger' gambit?" asks Steven Hughes. "Either way, he'd be showing more emotional engagement than Hodgson." 80 min: Kuyt looks knackered . He tackles Henry, but doesn't have the puff to run off with the ball, which is soon spirited away from him. He stands there looking depressed. He doesn't even have the energy to tip his gaze to the floor. 82 min: Aurelio comes on for Maxi, presumably to help Johnson out with Hammill. "Just where do you play Gerrard?" wonders Ben Dunn. "Behind Torres, where he's quite good or on the right where he's not that good or even on the left where he's not that good. I know he's regarded as one of the game's current greats but shouldn't he, you know, have a position where he's great already? I think he'd work in a 4-3-1-2 system where he's the one, but I can't see Liverpool doing that." 83 min: A free kick for Wolves, just to the left of the Liverpool area. A really dangerous position, but they waste it, Hammill pulling a clever-clever ball back for the onrushing Milijas, who slams the ball into the first red shirt. 84 min: Torres twists down the right and enters the box, stabbing a shot goalwards. The effort hits Berra on the hand. Torres screams for a penalty, but he's never getting that sort of decision, the defender standing right next to the striker with his back turned and arms by his side. "Liverpool appear to tire hopelessly in the second half," notes Umran Sarwar. "This is is a hangover of the Hodgson debacle as they sat back for 90 mins and now are being asked by Dalglish to actually push forward and press the opposition hard. Hopefully the players can up their fitness." The Hodgson Debacle. That's nice. Did that really happen, or was it a dream? 85 min: Meireles is booked for... I'm not sure. Some sort of challenge in the centre of the park. The crowd weren't really up in arms about anything, so I'm guessing we've not missed any great drama. 88 min: The Liverpool away support haven't had much to shout about this season, so they're giving You'll Never Walk Alone plenty. 90 min: Liverpool are playing keep ball now, Meireles in the centre of the move. He's been very assured today. There will be three added minutes of this. "The Hodgson Debacle did indeed exist," reports Adrian Cooper. "It was the follow up to his time at Fulham (the Hodgson Supremacy) and will shortly be followed by the Hodgson Ultimatum, in which Roy rocks up at West Ham and demands that they re-sign Paul Konchesky to fill their troublesome leftback situation." 90 min +1: GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-3 Liverpool. Kuyt is released down the left, Berra playing everyone on in the centre, worried as he is by Torres. Kuyt makes it to the six-yard box, and falls over, Stearman getting in his way, but the ball breaks to Torres in the centre, who slams home from eight yards. Kenny Dalglish dances around on the touchline. and no wonder; his team have been very good today. FULL TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-3 Liverpool. And that's that. Wolves weren't by any stretch of the imagination bad - indeed they put their opponents under pressure at regular intervals - but Liverpool were deserved winners, stroking it around very nicely at times, a marked change to their witless approach against the same opposition at Anfield. Let's not be too hard on Roy, though: he did sign Raul Meireles, who despite Torres' two-goal haul was today's man of the match. Let's give the man something .