Harvey Elliott gives Klopp hard choice

Liverpool booked their place into the fourth round of the FA Cup after securing a 1-0 victory over Wolves at Molineux on Tuesday night.

The visitors made a bright start to the game with Liverpool’s midfield looking much more controlled in their pressing, and they got themselves in front in the 13th minute when Harvey Elliott’s strike from range left goalkeeper Jose Sa with no chance to make the stop.

Both sides struggled to create many meaningful opportunities in a match where Liverpool’s midfield three shined. Ruben Neves had one of Wolves’ best opportunities to score but couldn’t couldn’t convert a free-kick from a promising position, before Joe Gomez intervened to stop Wolves forward Raul Jimenez from getting his effort on target.

A late rally presented Wolves’ Matheus Cunha with a chance that he flashed over the bar, leaving Liverpool, the FA Cup holders, standing firm to earn their first clean sheet in six games.

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Positives

Liverpool needed a response after a disappointing loss against Brighton over the weekend, and there were obvious signs of improvement on the night. The Reds pressed much better as a team in a performance that saw them much harder to break down.

Negatives

Manager Jurgen Klopp’s side could have done more in terms of chance creation. Outside of Elliott’s goal from range, the Reds didn’t really create much.

Manager rating (out of 10)

Jurgen Klopp, 7 — A much changed line-up injected energy into the Liverpool side, though many of the players who Klopp handed an opportunity to in this one will have presented him with a selection headache going forward.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Caoimhin Kelleher, 6 — A quiet opening 45 minutes for the Republic of Ireland international saw Kelleher largely a spectator to start with. Looked to get a hand to a Ruben Neves free-kick in…