Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers will battle it out in a FA Cup replay after playing to an entertaining 2-2 draw at Anfield on Saturday night.
FA Cup
Result: Liverpool 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Date: 07 January 2023
Venue: Anfield
The Reds handed new signing Cody Gakpo his first start in the line-up as he joined Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah upfront while Joel Matip filled the position vacated by the injured Virgil van Dijk.
Jurgen Klopp's charges were all over Wolves in the opening exchanges but they lacked the bite where it mattered most, as the visitors were happy to absorb the pressure and wait for opportunities on counter-attacks.
Julen Lopetegui's troops drew first blood on 26 minutes after goalkeeper Alisson made an error playing from the back and gifted a pass to Goncalo Guedes, who made no mistake with a low shot from ten yards.
After the game went back and forth, Nunez eventually levelled matters for Liverpool on the stroke of half-time with a first-time shot at the back post after good cross by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Reds had a great start in the second stanza as Salah gave them the lead within seven minutes with volleyed shot after a through ball over the top by Gakpo deflected kindly on his path.
In response, Lopetegui made a tactical change to add an extra attacker after the hour-mark, as Hee-Chan Hwang replaced Ruben Neves.
And the change of shape by Wolves made an immediate impact, as Hwang restored parity on 67 minutes with a low strike in the box after exchanging passes with fellow substitute Matheus Cunha.
Klopp was conservative with his options from the bench, as he introduced Harvey Elliott with 15 minutes to go in place of Fabinho for fresh legs in midfield.
With the game on the balance, Toti thought he had snatched the winner for Wolves eight minutes before time after tucking home a rebound from close-range but his goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for offside in the build-up.
The likes of Salah and Gakpo were withdrawn for Liverpool in the dying minutes and the game lacked momentum as it ended all square, with the encounter set to be settled on a replay after a 2-2 draw.
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