Jurgen Klopp’s Jekyll and Hyde Reds: The Liverpool manager was incredulous at their sloppy first-half display against Wolves, but Andy Robertson instigated a fightback

• Jurgen Klopp was furious at Liverpool’s sloppy first-half performance
• The Reds turned it around late on to win 3-1 at Wolves on Saturday afternoon 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off’

Jurgen Klopp was asked his thoughts on Liverpool’s first-half display. ‘W…T…F,’ he said, pausing for effect between each letter.

‘What the f***,’ is not exactly family friendly but Klopp was right to be incredulous. His team were lethargic, sloppy and toothless, on and off the ball.

It is not the first time this season Liverpool have been severely below-par early on. Against Bournemouth, they were lucky to be only 1-0 down after repeatedly losing the ball in their own half. At Newcastle, Eddie Howe’s men threw away a fine chance to win.

Even in drawing at Chelsea, Liverpool were limited to one shot on target and 35 per cent possession. But here we are after five matches and Klopp’s side have 13 points from a possible 15. It is no exaggeration to say that tally could have been three.

They carved Wolves open time and again in the second half to overturn that 1-0 deficit and go home with a 3-1 win. They have been 1-0 down in three of their four wins. So, how do we assess this Jekyll and Hyde team? At times, they look like the side who dropped points in eight of the first 12 games last season. At others, Liverpool have given their fans reason to believe they can lay a glove on Manchester City again.

Jurgen Klopp was incredulous about Liverpool’s first half display against Wolves on Saturday

The Liverpool boss cited low energy levels, and the struggles of players like Alexis Mac Allister

‘The good thing about the first half is that it was so bad I knew we couldn’t play the second half like that,’ said Klopp. ‘Low energy levels, Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) and others struggled as well. We changed pretty much everything about the game at half-time.

MATCH RATINGS

WOLVES (4-2-3-1): Sa 6; Semedo 7, Dawson 7, Kilman 6.5, Ait-Nouri 7 (Bueno 66min, 5); Gomes 6, Lemina 6.5 (Traore 78); Hwang 7 (Doherty 60, 5), Bellegarde 7 (Doyle 77), Neto 7.5; Cunha 6.5 (Silva 61, 5). 

Scorer: Hwang 7. 

Booked: Semedo. 

Manager: Gary O’Neil 7.

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 6; Gomez 4.5, Matip 4, Quansah 7 (Konate 83), Robertson 7; Mac Allister 3 (Diaz 46, 6.5), Jones 5, Szoboszlai 7; Salah 7.5 (Gravenberch 90), Gakpo 6 (Nunez 56, 6.5), Jota 5.5 (Elliott 56, 7). 

Scorers: Gakpo 55, Robertson 85, Bueno 90 (og). 

Booked: Mac Allister, Jones, Elliott. 

Manager: Jurgen Klopp 8.

Referee: Michael Oliver 6.

‘The second half was really good. In the end, it was a massive, massive three points.’

And Klopp is right. He was furious until Andy Robertson put Liverpool ahead on 85 minutes. The German would have blamed international travel and kick-off times, with Mac Allister the headline case after a trip to Bolivia and back. The Argentine was hooked at half-time.

Luis Diaz came on, with his pace and directness key in the revamped second-half display. Harvey Elliott added energy — and thought he had scored the third until it was given as an own goal — while Darwin Nunez was a focal point after his introduction.

‘I can tell you some of it but not all of it,’ Robertson told TNT Sports when asked what Klopp had said at half-time. ‘You can come up with excuses with lads travelling the world but you need to be ready.’

Liverpool’s star was Mo Salah, as usual. He put the ball on a plate for Cody Gakpo’s equaliser, played a nice give-and-go with Robertson for the second and passed to Elliott for the third.

Salah’s start to the season is going somewhat under the radar, with Robertson adding that the Egyptian is too often judged by his goal tally. No player in the division has more assists this season. He is top of the charts for big chances created and second for goal involvements.

‘During the speculation (Saudi Arabian bids for him), I thought Mo was superb off and on the pitch,’ said Robertson. ‘There was a lot of talk but that’s all done and dusted and he put in another outstanding performance.’

Based on that first-half effort, Liverpool are set for another long season. But their knack for winning when not at their best, a sparkling Salah and the flourishing new signings mean Liverpool can mount a challenge for the title at the very least.

Andy Robertson said only some of Klopp’s half-time team-talk was repeatable after the fact

The captain hailed Mohamed Salah for keeping his focus despite reports of a move away

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