If football matches were decided by the first 45 minutes, this one would have been filed under “polite but uneventful evening entertainment.” Unfortunately for Wolves, the second half existed.
After a quiet opening period, Liverpool suddenly remembered they were quite good at football. A quick-fire double from Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah turned the tie on its head before Curtis Jones added a third. Hwang Hee-chan grabbed a late consolation, but by that point, the FA Cup dream had already packed its bags and left Molineux Stadium. It was one of those games where Wolves looked organised for long spells… until two minutes of chaos undid everything. Let’s get into the player ratings.
Sam Johnstone – 5/10
Didn’t have much to do in the first half as Wolves stayed compact. The second half was a very different story. Made one decent save but couldn’t prevent Liverpool running away with the game. Definitely missed José Sá here.
Jackson Tchatchoua – 4.5/10
Worked hard down the right and defended fairly well in the opening 45 minutes. Struggled once Liverpool increased the tempo after the break.
Yerson Mosquera – 5/10
Typically aggressive and committed in the tackle. Looked solid before half-time, but was part of a defence that completely lost control in the second half.
Santiago Bueno – 5/10
Read the game well early on and dealt with Liverpool’s attacks calmly in the first half. Things unravelled after the break as Wolves struggled to deal with Liverpool’s movement.
Toti Gomes – 5/10
Made a few important clearances and tried to organise the back line. Like the rest of the defence, he was overwhelmed once Liverpool started moving the ball quicker.
Hugo Bueno – 5.5/10
Had a tough night on the left side. Spent most of the game defending and struggled to deal with Liverpool’s attacking runs after the break.
João Gomes – 6/10
Probably Wolves’ most competitive player. Covered ground, tackled hard and tried to drag Wolves back into the game when things were slipping away.
Angel Gomes – 4.5/10
Tried to bring some creativity but struggled to influence the game. Saw very little of the ball in dangerous areas and faded as Liverpool took control.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – 5/10
Energetic and tried to drive Wolves forward when opportunities appeared. Unfortunately, those opportunities were pretty rare.
Mateus Mané – 4.5/10
A quiet evening for the youngster. Had one or two moments on the counter but was largely anonymous as Wolves struggled to create chances. Mané will probably benefit from the ten-day break until the next fixture.
Tolu Arokodare – 4.5/10
Battled physically with Liverpool’s defenders but received very little service. Hard to influence the game when the ball rarely reaches you.
Substitutes
David Møller Wolfe – 5/10
Came on to try and steady things defensively. Kept things simple, but the momentum of the game was already with Liverpool.
Adam Armstrong – 5/10
Pressed well and tried to stretch Liverpool’s defence. Didn’t have many opportunities to make a real impact.
Hwang Hee-chan – 7/10
At least someone gave the home crowd something to cheer about. Took his late goal well and brought more attacking energy than Wolves had shown for the majority of the game.
Rodrigo Gomes – 6/10
Lively cameo, looked keen to run at Liverpool whenever he got the chance, and added a bit of spark late on.
For 45 minutes, Wolves competed well and kept Liverpool relatively quiet. Unfortunately, football matches last 90 minutes, and the second half belonged entirely to Liverpool. Two goals in quick succession after the restart effectively ended the contest, and Wolves never really looked like recovering.
One decent half of football wasn’t enough.
