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Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Liverpool 2 | Talking Points

Another win for the red side of Merseyside makes it seven in succession for Liverpool as they look down the league table and see 19 other teams still beneath them. The hosts put up a good fight in front of their home crowd but clinical finishing and rued chances left them short as they flopped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of a ruthless Liverpool side.

A win for Manchester City against Crystal Palace won’t prevent Liverpool from sitting pretty at the top of the table on Christmas Day which is a sight to behold for Liverpool fans across the world. The team sitting top of the tree on Christmas in the last four Premier League seasons have all managed to lift the title, yet no season has been closer than this one.

Salah the centre-forward

Not for the first time, the Egyptian’s golden touch had Liverpool ahead at halftime with a deft finish after a great move by Fabinho and Mane on the right-hand side of the box. That goal was Salah’s 11th in the league this season which put him top of the goalscoring table for a very short period before Aubameyang’s brace in Arsenal’s 3-1 win against Burnley dropped him back down to second. It has to be said, the moody goal celebrations that we have been accustomed to with Salah recently were a thing of the past as not even the rain could keep the Egyptian from smiling after his goal in the 19thminute.

Since Klopp has deployed him at the spearhead of the Liverpool attack, Salah has flourished in all aspects of his game and has popped up with vital goals across all competitions. The Egyptian has been involved in 25 games so far, scoring 14 goals with most of those goals (11) coming in his last 13 games. It was a slow start for the Egyptian and possibly he was jaded from the World Cup or even further he could have still been carrying an injury from Liverpool’s Champions League final woes. His issues with the Egyptian FA could have been on his mind too but all we know now is we are seeing the full Mo Salah of last season. Pacey, tricky, creative, a major thorn in any opponent’s side and he showed that at Molineux Stadium on Friday night by opening the scoring and also picking out Van Dijk for Liverpool’s second.

The games are coming thick and fast now and with Mo playing 90 minutes in the last four matchups, Klopp may have a decision to make as Liverpool face Newcastle, at Anfield, in just five days time which is followed by a visit from Arsenal three days later.

Liverpool remain unbeaten

Unbeaten. Top at Christmas. The league’s second top scorer bolstering their attacking lineup. The keeper and defence who hold the best defensive record in the league. A 48-point tally notched up after 18 games. What more can a fan ask for at this stage of the season? It goes without saying, Liverpool are real title contenders but with only 18 games gone and the halfway point around the corner, there is still more to do and a lot more to come. Klopp is keeping his side and his own feet completely grounded though with comments like “we cannot start a party” and “48 points before Christmas, it’s just crazy, but there are other teams there as well”. He is fully aware that by the end of the weekend there could be four teams in total on 40 or more points which he regards as “really exceptional”.

Wolves will be back

Klopp’s Liverpool halted a winning run of three games for Wolves as they’ve managed wins against Chelsea, Newcastle and Bournemouth in recent weeks, propelling themselves into 7thand one point behind Manchester Utd. They have scored the least goals in the top 13 teams with all of the bottom seven sides scoring least goals. Their ability to manufacture points from tight games has been paramount to their stable position so far but by the end of this weekend, they could slip into the bottom half of the table if results go against them. Coming up to the halfway point though, they are most of the way to the magic 40 most managers aim for when entering the Premier League as a newly promoted side. I fully expect Wolves to reach that target and surpass it based on the first half of the campaign.

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They may have already played a significant part in who wins the Premier League and who picks up a top-four spot in May as they’ve managed to beat Chelsea and take points from Arsenal, Manchester Utd and even Manchester City, which in itself is incredible from the Wanderers.

With Fulham to come on Boxing Day and then Spurs shortly after, it’s no rest for anybody as they will continue to go from strength to strength. With the display they put in against Liverpool, I have no problem in saying there is more to come from Wolves and their Portuguese core. They managed to make chances which they squandered, they managed to press Liverpool and win the ball high up the field and they most definitely tested goalkeeper Alisson at times who was forced into multiple saves in both the first and second halves. A goal could have made the match a testing and eerie affair for Liverpool but with Wolves being kept mostly quiet and Liverpool’s 62% possession of the ball, they were unable to put enough pressure on the Reds to see if they would fold.

Virgil Van Dijk: 75 Million well spent?

On the 28th December 2017, Sky Sport’s official Twitter account asked the question: Is Virgil Van Dijk worth £75m?

The answer from 77% of votes was ‘No’. 131,621 people took the vote and I can’t fathom any of those 77% picking the same answer they chose back then, now.

Worth is a strange concept in my opinion. I believe ‘worth’ is relative to requirement. Liverpool needed a top defender, so they ensured they got one. Liverpool needed a top goalkeeper, they seem to have got one of those too. No one can argue the signing of the Dutch force that is Virgil Van Dijk has not been vital to seeing a resurgent Liverpool sure up their backline and move away from a team that let in goals for fun to a team who don’t let in goals, to the annoyance of almost every team they have come up against this season. Liverpool have not conceded two or more goals in a single Premier League game so far which has been principal to them seeing out a couple of the closer scoreline matches so far. Although that effort does not solely come down to Van Dijk, he definitely plays a huge part in this as he demands so much of himself and the teammates around him which we have seen as he barks his orders and picks up players from the floor who have made mistakes.

Although his aerial ability is unbelievable, he managed only his second goal for Liverpool against Wolves and he didn’t need his head for it either. In fact, most defenders would have put this particular chance over the bar and into row Z but it was cute, direct and accurate as it passed Patricio in the home goal after Salah picked him out of the crowd. He plays with a lot of heart and has lived up to every bit of expectation and faith the club has put into him. The £75m Liverpool paid is a drop in the water at this stage as far as I’m concerned and yes, to Liverpool, he is worth every penny.

George (Goliath Tipping)

George, 27, love betting on sports and writing about my beloved LFC!

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