Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield in a poor defensive showing that will now set up a replay of their FA Cup third round match.
Liverpool, holders of the FA Cup and debuting new Dutch forward Cody Gakpo, started brightly before a number of errors at the back were eventually punished when Alisson‘s pass was easily cut-out by Goncalo Guedes, who enjoyed an easy finish to put Wolves into the lead.
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The visitors looked bright with momentum, but they couldn’t hold out before the break as Darwin Nunez expertly guided the ball past Matija Sarkic in added time after an excellent ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold, restoring parity just moments before the half-time whistle.
Liverpool didn’t take long to get themselves into the lead after the restart as an error from Toti Gomes was punished by Mohamed Salah, and a moment of redemption followed as Alisson saved from Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Wolves got back on level terms through Hwang Hee-Chan after some naive defending by the Reds, who then had to get past a VAR review when Toti Gomes saw what could have been the winning goal ruled out for a marginal offside.
The two sides will play once more at Molineux to see who advances to the fourth round of the competition.
Positives
A positive debut for Gakpo indicates that Liverpool have finally found a strong alternative on the left-flank, as the Reds continue to deal with the injury absences of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz. Ibrahima Konate also impressed ahead of a spell where he is set to feature regularly with Virgil van Dijk sidelined. A goal for Nunez could also be the catalyst for a promising run of form.
Negatives
Too many careless moments saw Liverpool questionable with their decision-making, not least for the opener where Alisson looked to still be in the holiday season, gifting a goal to Guedes. Those errors will need to be avoided if the Reds are to retain the FA Cup this season ahead of the replay at Molineux.
