Arne Slot called Liverpool’s shock 2-1 defeat to bottom-placed Wolves “another setback” that perfectly encapsulated their disappointing Premier League title defence.
The champions dominated possession and chances at Molineux but fell victim to their familiar failings.
Andre’s stoppage-time strike flew past Alisson to chalk up a ninth league defeat of the season and deal a crushing blow to Liverpool’s Champions League aspirations.
“The same old story,” Slot said bluntly. “Recently we are picking up points because we scored many times from set-pieces, but the end result is we score one and they scored two – another in added time – so it sums up our season again.
“What I mean is that we have far more ball possession than the other team and we’ve created most of the open play chances, but in open play we’ve struggled to score.”
Wolves stunned the visitors with 12 minutes remaining when Rodrigo Gomes expertly lifted the ball over Alisson after Tolu Arokodare had outmuscled Virgil van Dijk. Mohamed Salah appeared to have salvaged a point five minutes later with his first league goal since November, pouncing on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s stray pass.
But Wolves – who have now scored in stoppage time in their last three home matches – delivered the sucker punch when Andre’s effort deflected cruelly home.
The defeat leaves Liverpool fifth on 48 points, three behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and Manchester United, with the very real prospect of dropping to sixth if Chelsea beat Villa on Wednesday.
Slot’s frustration was palpable as he reflected on another game that slipped through his side’s fingers.
“My expectations have changed throughout the season because I expected more from us,” he admitted. “It’s another setback and we didn’t help ourselves with this result, not at all. There are still nine games to play but we’re dropping points in a game when it’s absolutely not necessary when you look at the run of play.
“If we play this game in this fashion 10 times, I don’t think we lose 10 times – but I’m far from sure we win every time. Therefore we are not good enough.”
