Gary Neville bemoans the lack of intent by Wolves as Liverpool go top

Liverpool continued their winning momentum with a hard-fought 2-1 victory away at Wolverhampton, courtesy of Mohamed Salah’s coolly taken penalty. While it may not have been their most dominant performance, Arne Slot and his men will view this as a valuable, hard-earned three points. There are, however, a few key talking points emerging from the team’s performance that warrant closer examination.

One area of focus will be Liverpool’s ability to manage pressure in tight games, as Wolves pressed them hard throughout. Slot’s tactical adjustments and the team’s resilience ultimately proved enough to secure the win, but it’s clear there are lessons to be learned if they want to sustain their form in the title race.

Gary Neville was frustrated with the lack of creativity at the game

As Ibrahima Konaté opened the scoring, it was evident that Liverpool didn’t seem entirely comfortable holding onto their lead. Wolves applied significant pressure, and a defensive error from Liverpool ultimately led to the equalizer. However, Wolves themselves were guilty of mistakes, allowing Liverpool to regain control.

Breaking down the game analysis, former player and football pundit Gary Neville, speaking on Sky Sports, highlighted these moments, stating:

“They are passing it back to the goalkeeper and it drives me crazy. Absolutely drives me crazy,” He ranted, picking apart the hosts’ apparent lack of attacking intensity when trailing.

“This is exactly what I am talking about. You need a goal. Do they know? Just stop it. Honestly. It is so frustrating, I can’t watch this because you can’t kid football fans. They know exactly what is going on here, you have got to have another idea to try and do something different.”

Although Gary Neville’s critique may seem harsh, it’s hard to ignore how Wolverhampton’s style of play often made life difficult for themselves. While Gary O’Neil’s tactics were built on taking risks, the execution left something to be desired. However, given the squad at his disposal, it is understandable. Neville, on the other hand, is never pro-Liverpool and the fact that he is rooting for the opposition to trouble us is no surprise. Anything that frustrates him is gold in our books.

Wolves went toe to toe with Liverpool in many aspects, but their overall performance raised some concerns. With an Expected Goals (xG) of only 0.63 compared to Liverpool’s 2.54, despite having 45% possession, it’s clear they struggled to create high-quality chances. Playing high-risk football can pay off, but it also comes with the danger of backfiring against top-quality teams like Liverpool.

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Wolves’ approach shows ambition, but their inability to convert possession into meaningful opportunities highlights the challenge of maintaining such a style in the Premier League, especially against elite opposition. Not that we are complaining given the performance we put in on the night.

For now, we are top of the Premier League standings. There will be more days where we fail to turn up at our best but all that matters is the three points. Arne Slot has started well and deserves all the plaudits coming his way.