Salah on target as Liverpool stun Wolves to move top of EPL

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A 61st-minute Mohammed Salah’s penalty earned Liverpool a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League at the weekend.

The Reds secured three points on the road at Molineux as Ibrahima Konate and Salah struck in either half, with the hosts briefly levelling the contest in the second period via Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The win was enough to send Arne Slot’s side to the top of the standings, a point ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal. Following a recent absence due to injury, Alisson Becker returned to the starting line-up.

The goalkeeper was one of 10 Reds changes from the Carabao Cup win over West Ham United in midweek, while Darwin Nunez missed the fixture due to illness.

The opening exchanges passed without major incident, with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s low effort from outside the area the only notable chance for either team.

Liverpool, however, saw their first opportunity of the game shortly after the 10-minute mark, as Andy Robertson flashed a ball across goal, which evaded the darting run of Salah.

The Reds continued to press their hosts into mistakes in the final third, though Wolves were enjoying plenty of possession and pushing Slot’s team back when they were able to cross halfway.

Alisson was first forced to punch clear, while Virgil van Dijk and Konate were on hand to provide interventions in the box, before the Reds goalkeeper caught a Matheus Cunha dipping shot.

After the half-hour mark, Liverpool enjoyed their best spell of the game, forcing the home side back to defend a succession of crosses and corners.

Trent Alexander-Arnold also fired a low free-kick goalward, but his effort was easily held by stopper Sam Johnstone.