FA Cup holders Liverpool held by Wolves in four-goal thriller at Anfield

Home side survive late scare to earn third-round replay

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan celebrates after scoring his side's second goal. AFP

Holders Liverpool were held to a 2-2 home draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup on Saturday and will now face a replay after a breathless third-round tie in which the visitors had a late goal chalked off for offside.

Liverpool fell behind after 26 minutes courtesy of a howler from goalkeeper Alisson who attempted to play a pass out from the back but directed the ball straight to the feet of Goncalo Guedes, who slotted it into the empty net.

The hosts, however, entered the break level after a superb Trent Alexander-Arnold cross-field pass was met by Darwin Nunez on the volley, who steered his shot beyond Matija Sarkic.

A defensive mix-up then handed the lead to Liverpool, with Mohamed Salah producing a calm finish after Wolves defender Toti inadvertently flicked the ball into his path.

Wolves did not let up in their intensity after going behind and were rewarded as Hwang Hee-chan prodded the ball between Alisson's legs after being threaded through by fellow substitute Matheus Cunha.

The visitors thought they were close to knocking Liverpool out of the competition as Toti flicked the ball into the Reds' net, and sprinted away in celebration, taking off his shirt, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

The decision sparked a furious reaction from Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui, who received a booking from the referee for his protests.

“It was a good start, a dominant start,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. “We played really good football moments and then we concede. The goal should not happen, but we all know how often Ali [Alisson] saves our backsides.

“They had counter-attacks before then, it is always dangerous when [Adama] Traore gets the ball. We could see that. We came back with a fantastic equaliser, everything was clear at halftime what we wanted to improve and change to cause them more problems.

“Then it was a dominant performance before they got a foot in the game and we didn't win enough challenges from there. They caused us massive problems. We kept the problems in the game. The equaliser was unlucky, but he should not be able to work into our box.”

Liverpool's Cody Gakpo's made his debut after joining from PSV Eindhoven at the start of the January transfer window.

“He fitted into the game,” Klopp said. “It was not easy for a first step. We cannot expect it to be perfect, but he showed good signs. We have to get him in better positions but that will come no doubt.”