Football: FA Cup holders Liverpool face replay after Wolves draw
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Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez (right) vies for the ball during the match against Wolves at Anfield.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that Wolverhampton Wanderers gave his side “massive problems”, after they were held to a 2-2 home draw in the FA Cup on Saturday and will now face a replay.
The third-round clash at Anfield had no lack of entertainment as Reds goalkeeper Alisson had a poor game by his standards, while the visitors had a late goal chalked off for offside, which infuriated their manager Julen Lopetegui.
“It was a good start, a dominant start,” Klopp told ITV.
“We played really good football in moments but then we concede. The goal should not happen, but we all know how often Ali (Alisson) saves our backsides.
“They had counter-attacks before then, it is always dangerous when (Adama) Traore gets the ball. We could see that. We came back with a fantastic equaliser, everything was clear at half-time what we wanted to improve and change to cause them more problems.
“Then it was a dominant performance before they got a foot in the game and we didn’t win enough challenges from there. They caused us massive problems. We kept the problems in the game. The equaliser was unlucky, but he should not be able to work into our box.”
The Alisson incident that the Liverpool boss was referring to was when the Reds fell behind after 26 minutes following a howler from their goalkeeper, who attempted to play a pass out from the back but directed the ball to the feet of Goncalo Guedes, who slotted it into the empty net.
The hosts, however, entered the break level after a superb cross-field Trent Alexander-Arnold pass was met by Darwin Nunez on the volley, who directed the ball past Montenegro goalkeeper Matija Sarkic.
A defensive mix-up then handed the lead to Liverpool seven minutes after the restart, with Egypt star Mohamed Salah producing a calm finish after Wolves defender Toti flicked a Liverpool pass into his path.
Wolves did not let up in their intensity after going behind and were rewarded as Hwang Hee-chan sneaked the ball between Alisson’s legs after being threaded through by fellow substitute Matheus Cunha.
Lopetegui’s side thought they were close to knocking Liverpool out of the competition, as Toti flicked the ball into the Reds’ net and sprinted away in celebration, taking off his shirt but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The decision to disallow the goal sparked a furious reaction from the Wolves manager, who received a booking from the referee for his protests.
Speaking to ITV, the Spaniard said: “We have seen it, the offside doesn’t exist, I’m sorry. It’s impossible.
“Someone has told him it’s offside, but we’ve seen the images, it doesn’t exist.
“The decision is wrong. I make mistakes every day, and sometimes they do too. Today we have the help of VAR, and it is a pity, because I’m sorry, it’s not offside.”
Liverpool’s Dutch striker Cody Gakpo (left) vies with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ French defender Rayan Ait-Nouri during the match.
PHOTO: AFP
On a positive note for Liverpool, Dutch forward Cody Gakpo made his debut after joining from PSV Eindhoven at the start of the January transfer window.
“He (Gakpo) fitted into the game,” Klopp said.
“It was not easy for a first step. We cannot expect it to be perfect, but he showed good signs. We have to get him in better positions but that will come, no doubt.” REUTERS
