A late goal from Toti was disallowed for offside as Wolves believed they had snatched victory in their FA Cup third round clash with Liverpool at Anfield.
Goncalo Guedes had put Wolves ahead midway inside the first-half before Darwin Nunez’s equaliser just before the break. Liverpool regained the lead on 52 minutes through Mohamed Salah, but the side in gold and black fought back with Hee Chan Hwang finding the back of the net.
An entertaining contest ended in controversial circumstances as Toti was found at the far post inside the final ten minutes before diverting the ball home from close range, but after the offside flag was raised and a lengthy VAR referral, the decision was made to disallow the goal and take the game to a replay.
Wolves’ run of improving with each display under Julen Lopetegui continued in the opening 45 minutes at Anfield despite the head coach making nine changes to his side from the team that lined up against Aston Villa three days previously.
Lining up in a 4-4-2, the players in gold and black didn’t appear fazed to be facing the reigning FA Cup holders on their own turf, and had the best of the chances in the opening exchanges. The pace of Adama Traore was being utilised early on as the winger was tasked with putting several balls into the Liverpool penalty area.
But the opening goal, midway through the half, had a big slice of fortune for the visitors. Raul Jimenez believed he had been fouled when trying to take a shot from just outside the penalty area following more good work by Adama, but the referee waved play on. Immediately, Liverpool goalkeeper Allison Becker tried to play the ball out wide to Ibrahima Konate, but he inadvertently played his pass direct to the feed of Guedes who tapped the ball into an empty net.
Adama and Guedes were involved again as Wolves came close to making it two on 35 minutes. The Spaniard dispossessed Jordan Henderson inside the centre-circle before playing a pass to his Portuguese teammate who let fly from 25 yards and had Allison scrambling to palm the ball away from his net.
Wolves continued to search for a second throughout the half and Jimenez found himself just a matter of inches short of diverting Adama’s powerful low cross in at the far post.
The Liverpool fans were beginning to turn on their side when more sloppy defending almost let Wolves in, but they were quick to change their tune when the found an equaliser just before the break.
Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up the ball and burst into the Wolves half before placing a stunning pass directly to the boot of the onrushing Nunez. The Uruguayan made no mistake with his one-touch finish as he directed the ball past Matija Sarkic, which saw the sides go into the break on even terms.
Half-time | Liverpool 1-1 Wolves
The second-half followed a similar pattern as the first, but it was Liverpool who struck first shortly after the interval. A mix-up in defence by Toti allowed Salah to find himself one-on-one with Sarkic and he slid the ball into the far corner.
Wolves immediately pressed for an equaliser and could – and maybe should – have levelled the tie up through Ait-Nouri. Playing on the left wing, he was played through the Liverpool defence by a stunning Neves pass, before taking the ball in his stride but only firing a shot straight at Allison.
But it didn’t take Wolves too long to get back all square. A triple substitution saw Hwang and Matheus Cunha enter the fray and the pair combined to make it 2-2. The South Korean picked up possession inside the Liverpool half and slipped in Cunha who returned the favour for Hwang to direct the ball beyond Allison.
Both sides were pushing for a late winner and it was Wolves who had the ball in the net with less than 10 minutes remaining. After an initial shot was blocked, the ball ended up finding its way to Toti at the far post who diverted the ball into the back of the net, promoting joyous celebrations in front of the away supporters. However, the offside flag was raised and VAR confirmed the onfield decision.
With neither side adding a third which counted, the game ended in a draw, meaning a third round replay at Molineux awaits later this month.
Full-time | Liverpool 2-2 Wolves
Liverpool | Alisson, Alexander-Arnold (Gomez 84), Matip, Konate, Robertson, Fabinho (Elliott 75), Thiago, Henderson (Keita 68), Gakpo (Oxlade-Chamberlain 84), Salah (Doak 84), Nunez.
Unused subs | Kelleher, Tsimikas, Phillips, Carvalho.
Wolves | Sarkic, Lembikisa (Semedo 69), Collins, Toti, Jonny, Adama, Neves (Nunes 63), Hodge, Ait-Nouri (Bueno 72), Guedes (Hwang 63), Jimenez (Cunha 63).
Unused subs | Sa, Mosquera, Kilman, Ronan.
Referee | Andrew Madley
