Liverpool received a much-needed boost of confidence after they scrapped to a hard-earned win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday evening.
Harvey Elliott scored the only goal with a blistering solo effort as a much-changed Reds secured a 1-0 win in their FA Cup third round replay. The result means Jurgen Klopp’s side will now travel to Brighton and Hove Albion in the next round on Sunday week.
But there was plenty that went unnoticed or under the radar during the 90 minutes at Molineux.
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Wolves lose bite
There was sufficient to get worked up about in a blood-and-thunder FA Cup tie, if perhaps not quite as much as was being made out on the television beforehand. And with Liverpool responding to the call from Jurgen Klopp for more fight, they were eager to get stuck in.
After one robust first-half tackle went rightly unpunished, Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui had seen enough and started jabbing his finger and gesticulating wildly towards his Reds counterpart in the technical area.
Klopp stood there with a bemused face while his assistant Peter Krawietz joined him for a few choice words before Lopetegui was ushered away by the fourth official. Steady on, old bean.
Bajcetic told
Stefan Bajcetic once again caught the eye with a composed, mature performance - not least when leaving Joao Moutinho on his backside with a neat turn in the first half.
But the 18-year-old was given a swift lesson in the harsh realities of first-team football when a wayward pass forced Kostas Tsimikas into fouling Adama Traore.
The left-back then turned to his young team-mate and gave him a piece of his mind before carrying on with the game. Bajcetic didn't make the same mistake again.
Lights out
There were all sorts of strange shenanigans going on at Molineux, particularly early on in the game when a city-wide power cut plunged the stadium into darkness before the floodlights flickered back into action.
However, there had been a warning an hour or so before the game. While sat in the press room, the lights twice went completely out before returning, while power was lost on all appliances for a while.
Reports the electricity had instead been diverted to a mobile phone strapped to the BBC set have just been made up.
Keita gets up
Making his first start of the season and lasting the full 90 minutes, Naby Keita didn't take matters lying down at Molineux. Well, he was told not to at any rate.
As Ruben Neves lined up a 95th-minute free-kick in an attempt to score a dramatic equaliser, Keita was prone on the turf behind the defensive wall before being urged by his colleagues to get back on his feet as Neves was rather more likely to ping one into the top corner.
In the event, the free-kick was clipped to the far post and the ball was eventually cleared. Keita, like the rest of the Liverpool players, could stand tall at the final whistle seconds later.
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