Liverpool renewed hope of a top-four finish with this tight win at Molineux – of course it was former Wolves player Diogo Jota who scored the only goal – but the match was marred by a nasty head injury to Rui Patricio.
The Wolves goalkeeper collided heavily with the knee of his team-mate Conor Coady, whilst trying to prevent Mo Salah from scoring (Salah put the ball in the net but the goal was ruled out for offside), and he lay stricken on the pitch for several minutes before he was carefully taken from the field of play on a stretcher.
The latest reports on Patricio’s condition are encouraging, thankfully. According to Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, Patricio is “conscious” and “he’s going to be okay”.
It was quite the scare for Wanderers, though, especially as it brought back memories of the horrendous injury to their striker Raul Jiminez, who fractured his skull when playing against Arsenal last November. Jiminez has yet to return to action, and there is no date set for his potential return.
2 – Diogo Jota is just the second player to score both for and against Wolves in the Premier League after Stephen Hunt. Resurface. pic.twitter.com/hhDsJdDBoJ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 15, 2021
Jota took his goal well, drilling a low show past Patricio right on half-time, to earn a much-need three points for Jurgen Klopp’s faltering side.
“It’s all about the result,” Klopp said afterwards. “A big fight. If we want three dirty points, I’m fine with that. We had very good moments where we should have done better. Defensively the whole game was really good.”
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Match highlights: