Wolves Weren't Pushovers, We Made Them Feel It

I’m not here to justify that second half against Wolves, because you can’t. It was flat, it was passive, and it had that horrible feel of a team trying to manage a match without really playing it. Liverpool doing that is always a risky business, because the moment you stop imposing yourself you’re basically asking for trouble.

What I do push back on, though, is this idea that we should simply be steamrolling Wolves by default, as if Premier League games work like that. Yes, they looked low on confidence. Yes, for large stretches they played like a side who’d rather keep the score respectable than actually come and have a go. But that’s kind of the point. When you’re 2-0 down and still not really attacking, you’re telling everyone you’re fragile. And fragile teams don’t need much to change their mood. They just need a moment.

Confidence is everything in this league

Wolves looked like a side short of belief, and you could see it in their decision-making. Even when they had chances to break, they didn’t commit numbers. They didn’t take risks. It felt like they’d half accepted the game was gone. But we’ve all watched enough football to know that a team like that can still snap into life if you let them.

They’ve shown this season that when they’re up for it, they can put a proper shift in and make it awkward for good sides. That doesn’t mean they’re suddenly world-beaters, it just means the gap between “hopeless” and “competitive” is often one goal, one tackle, one roar from the crowd.

We sat off, invited pressure, and paid for it

The killer is we basically provided the exact conditions Wolves needed. Instead of keeping the ball, staying on the front foot, and making them feel every run, we dropped deeper and started defending space rather than controlling it. Once that happens, you’re no longer dictating tempo. You’re reacting.

And when you’re reacting, mistakes come. A sloppy moment, a loose pass, a half-clearance, whatever it was that led to their goal, it does the same thing: it gives them belief. Suddenly they’re not just hanging on, they’re thinking, “Hang on, there’s something here.”

They’ve got players, and the margins are thin

Wolves aren’t devoid of talent. There are decent players in that squad, and even a struggling side can hurt you if you let them play in your half for long enough. The wider turmoil they’ve had behind the scenes can affect anyone, and it’s obvious they’re not playing to their full level week-to-week.

But the Premier League doesn’t hand you comfortable afternoons just because the other lot are in a bad moment. Liverpool made it harder than it needed to be by taking the foot off the gas. We didn’t need to “steamroll” them. We just needed to keep doing the basics well, keep them feeling sorry for themselves, and finish the job properly.

Written by Dracred: 2 January 2026