Liverpool keep FA Cup defense alive with slender win over Wolves
Liverpool kept alive its FA Cup title defense Tuesday and earned an immediate chance to avenge one of its most humiliating Premier League losses.
A 1-0 win at Wolverhampton in a third-round replay set up a trip in the last 32 to Brighton, which routed Liverpool 3-0 on Saturday in a defeat that Reds manager Jurgen Klopp ranked as the worst in his 22-year coaching career.
Harvey Elliott scored the winner in the 13th minute, running from inside his own half and unleashing a shot from 30 meters that sailed over Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa and into the middle of the net.
Klopp wanted his team to get "back to basics" after the humbling loss at Brighton three days earlier and fielded a weakened lineup, leaving out stars like Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker, and Andrew Robertson.
Liverpool was largely untroubled at Molineux as Wolves became the ninth Premier League team to get eliminated. Everton, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Aston Villa were knocked out in their first match in the famous old competition this season.
The FA Cup likely represents Liverpool's only chance of a domestic trophy this season, with Klopp's team having exited the League Cup and plunged to ninth place in the league — 19 points off leader Arsenal.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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