WOLVERHAMPTON, England — Liverpool will be spending Christmas Day atop the Premier League after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 on Friday. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk scored in either half on at Molineux to send Jurgen Klopp’s side four points clear of Manchester City, who host Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Positives
What’s the significance of being top of at Christmas? Each of the past four teams have gone on to become champions. Brendan Rodgers’ 2013-14 Liverpool team were the last side to buck this trend. However, this is an entirely different Liverpool team. This is one equally as devastating in attack, yet more solid defensively and possess the necessary depth to keep up this unbeaten form. Meanwhile, Salah is having absolutely no problem with his difficult follow-up season as he currently sits in pole position for the Premier League Golden Boot with 11 goals.
Negatives
Naby Keita’s performance here was not encouraging. Granted, he was taken off injured midway through the second half after sustaining a blow to midriff early on, but he has failed to recapture his impressive form displayed at the start of his Liverpool career.
Manager rating out of 10
7 — Liverpool, in their 4-2-3-1 formation, played some very intricate football at times in appalling weather conditions. Wolves are a good side and Liverpool have overcome another hurdle. Klopp’s substitutions also helped shut the game down to save some vital energy ahead of the busy festive period.
Player ratings: (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Alisson, 7 — No hangover whatsoever from his mistake against Manchester United. Alisson bailed out a number of his teammates’ numerous errors with saves.
DF James Milner, 6 — Fit again and shoved in at right-back to be his dependable self. Perhaps fortunate to not give away a penalty in the first half for a late tackle on Matt Doherty.
Not only was Virgil van Dijk superb defensively, he scored to give Liverpool some breathing room in a 2-0 win at Wolves.
DF Dejan Lovren, 6 — There were a number of moments where he didn’t exactly instill confidence he had things under control, but fine most of the time.
DF Virgil van Dijk, 9 — Capped off a totally dominant defensive display with his second goal for Liverpool — a well-taken finish from Salah’s cross. Defensively, the centre-half followed Adama Traore for most of the game, ensuring the tricky front man’s impact was minimal. Superb again.
DF Andrew Robertson, 6 — He didn’t venture forward as much he usually does due to Wolves’ threat on the counter-attack.
MF Fabinho, 8 — Gave away the ball in the fourth minute, which could have easily led to a Wolves goal, but recovered superbly. What is often overlooked with Fabinho’s game is just how keen he is to get forward — evidenced with the pullback assist for Salah’s goal.
MF Jordan Henderson, 6 — Playing slightly deeper than Fabinho, Henderson’s role was less glamorous, but important nonetheless.
FW Naby Keita, 5 — Liverpool and their supporters are expecting so much more from the player they had to wait 12 months for. He was replaced by Adam Lallana in the 58th minute.
FW Mohamed Salah, 8 — Finished clinically for his fifth goal in his past four appearances. The Egyptian is stepping up when Liverpool need him to. This was his seventh opening goal of the Premier League season so far.
FW Roberto Firmino, 7 — He created a lot of space and time on the ball for himself by continually dropping deep to good effect. He has had his struggles with the No. 10 role, but he’s far more comfortable in it now.
FW Sadio Mane, 6 — So often a poor touch of his let down a promising Liverpool move. He was part of nice link-up play with his forward partners, although there was little end product from the speedster.
Substitutes
MF Adam Lallana, 6 — Took up some nice positions. He can prove he is not the forgotten man at Anfield over this festive period.
MF Georginio Wijnaldum, N/R — Tidy as always.
DF Nathaniel Clyne, N/R — With Trent Alexander-Arnold watching as a supporter in the away end, Clyne is likely to be presented with some opportunities to build upon his United performance.
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