Liverpool 2-0 Wolves: Player ratings as Jurgen Klopp bows out with win

FROM ANFIELD - Liverpool ensured a perfect send-off for Jurgen Klopp as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 on Sunday in the German's final game in charge.

Aided by Nelson Semedo's first-half red card, the hosts cruised to victory thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah

But the true focus of the day was an emotional goodbye to one of the greatest managers in Anfield history after eight-and-a-half years in charge.

How the game unfolded

With Liverpool supporters displaying a mosaic reading 'Danke Jurgen' and offering up a particularly heartfelt rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', the game itself largely felt secondary.

But the hosts managed to park the emotion sufficiently to make a strong start in a raucous atmosphere, with Virgil van Dijk and Luis Diaz both drawing comfortable saves from Jose Sa early.

To their credit, Wolves did well to limit Liverpool to shots from distance, and showed their threat when Hwang Hee-chan forced Alisson Becker to tip round the post on the break.

However, that good work was undone in the 28th minute when Semedo went in studs up on Mac Allister's ankle, prompting a VAR review that resulted in an initial yellow card being swapped out for a red.

That did not change Wolves' approach too much, with the visitors content to defend deep, but they were soon undone when a delicious Harvey Elliott inswinging cross was nodded in by Mac Allister.

And the Reds doubled their advantage six minutes later, Quansah poking the ball home after a tame Mohamed Salah attempt had been deflected into his path.

Despite the end-of-season feel having been exacerbated by Klopp's imminent departure, Liverpool started the second half in much the same vein as they had finished the first. The hosts should have added to their lead when Cody Gakpo rounded the goalkeeper and set up Diaz to somehow hit underside of the bar from inside the six-yard box.

Gakpo and Mac Allister then spurned further good opportunities from close range before Wolves threatened to take the shine off the party on the counter.

However, Matheus Cunha contrived to strike straight at Alisson after he and Rayan Ait-Nouri had linked up brilliantly in the Liverpool box.

With the game having otherwise petered out, Wolves almost set up an interesting finish when Matt Doherty headed home brilliantly from just inside the box.

But the linesman's initial offside call was proven to be correct by a brief VAR check, ensuring Liverpool not only ended the Klopp era with three points but also picked up a clean sheet in a season that has featured few of them.

Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Alisson - 6/10 - Made decent saves from Hwang and Cunha in each half but otherwise enjoyed a quiet afternoon in the sunshine.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7/10 - Ran the game from right-back thanks to his wonderful passing range and seemed to be even more determined than usual in his defensive effort.

CB: Jarell Quansah - 8/10 - Continued his transformation into a prolific defender in making it back-to-back goals and was typically composed in his defending.

CB: Virgil van Dijk - 7/10 - Did not let Wolves get a sniff, winning his aerial duels and marshalling the Liverpool defensive line with typical class.

LB: Andy Robertson - 7/10 - Linked up really well with Diaz down the left-hand side and used the ball well.

DM: Wataru Endo - 7/10 - His physicality in midfield gave Liverpool a platform to dominate Wolves. Also rarely gave possession away.

CM: Harvey Elliott - 8/10 - Has ended an important season on a personal level in excellent form and capped another good performance here with a fine assist.

CM: Alexis Mac Allister - 8/10 - Took his goal well, won his battles, drew a red card and rarely gave the ball away. A top-class midfield performance.

RW: Mohamed Salah - 7/10 - Will be frustrated not to have ended the season with another goal after peppering Sa's goal across the game.

ST: Cody Gakpo - 6/10 - Continually got into the position to score, taking five shots in total, but arguably did not do enough with them.

LW: Luis Diaz - 6/10 - Summed himself up as a player in terrorising the Wolves defence throughout before missing a golden chance from four yards.

Substitutes

SUB: Ryan Gravenberch (71' for Mac Allister) - 7/10

SUB: Conor Bradley (71' for Alexander-Arnold) - 6/10

SUB: Darwin Nunez (71' for Diaz) - 6/10

SUB: Dominik Szoboszlai (81' for Gakpo) - 6/10

SUB: Curtis Jones (81' for Elliott) - 6/10

Subs not used: Caoimhin Kelleher (GK), Joe Gomez, Ibarhima Konate, Diogo Jota.

Manager

Jurgen Klopp - 8/10 - His team produced the ultimate show of respect in putting their emotions to one side to secure a professional win in his final game in charge.

Wolves player ratings (3-5-1-1)

GK: Jose Sa - 7/10 - Made some excellent saves across the 90 minutes but was thwarted by the fact that his teammates could not stop the shots raining down on his goal.

CB: Santiago Bueno - 4/10 - Beaten in the air by the diminutive Mac Allister for the opener and then put in a weak block that led to Liverpool's second.

CB: Max Kilman - 6/10 - The Liverpool goals aside, he seemed to frequently find himself in the right place to make important blocks in the box.

CB: Toti Gomes - 5/10 - Could not prevent Salah from getting shot after shot away down his side.

RWB: Nelson Semedo - 2/10 - Couldn't handle the threat of Diaz down his side before picking up a red card for a reckless, studs-up challenge on Mac Allister.

CM: Joao Gomes - 7/10 - Arguably Wolves' best performer, with his batttling qualities and good use of the ball a rare bright spot for the visitors.

CM: Mario Lemina - 6/10 - Won plenty of battles in midfield but the platform he provided was undermined by the red card.

CM: Jean-Ricner Bellegarde - 5/10 - Forced to drop into right-back by Semedo's sending off and did not look a natural there before being swapped out just past the hour-mark.

LWB: Rayan Ait-Nouri - 6/10 - His mazy runs were Wolves' biggest strength in the first half but Liverpool largely got to grips with him in the second.

AM: Matheus Cunha - 6/10 - Showed how dangerous his dribbling can be whenever he got on the ball, but wasn't involved enough to make a difference.

ST: Hwang Hee-chan - 5/10 - An early chance on the break aside, he was a marginal figure starved of service.

Substitutes

SUB: Matt Doherty (63' for Bellegarde) - 6/10

SUB: Boubacar Traore (63' for Hwang) - 6/10

SUB: Pedro Neto (78' for Cunha) - 6/10

SUB: Tommy Doyle (85' for Bueno) - 6/10

Subs not used: Dan Bentley (GK), Hugo Bueno, Enso Gonzalez, Tawanda Chirewa, Nathan Fraser.

Manager

Gary O'Neil - 6/10 - Wolves looked like they had the chance to frustrate Liverpool up until a red card that the manager can take no blame for.

Player of the match - Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)

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