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Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Wolves knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win in the third round of the tournament. The setback was the Reds' second loss in five days after the team had won eight consecutive games. Wolves pulled off the tight triumph on Monday at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England.
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Raul Jimenez gave Wolves its initial edge when he beat Reds keeper Simon Mignolet in the 38th minute. Jota stole the ball from the Reds on the play and tapped up to Jimenez near midfield to spark the breakaway.
Jimenez collected the feed and sprinted down the right flank on the play before reaching the Reds' box. He squared up a shot before blasting his finish into the far-post netting during the scoring sequence.
Wolves took the 1-0 led into the locker room at halftime before Liverpool could equalize in the 51st minute. Striker Divock Origi had that honor. Liverpool defender James Milner hit a shot off of the Wolves' defense while in the box. The deflection rolled out to Origi, who did a quick dribble move before burying a shot into the near-post netting.
But it was Ruben Neves who had the last word. The Wolves midfielder put his squad up for good with the game-winning tally just four minutes later.
Ruben Vinagre collected the ball outside the Reds' box during that play. He settled the pass from Neves before eying his teammates. Vinagre opted to send a grounded ball back to Neves, who took one touch before smashing a 30-yard golazo past Mignolet.
"We played Wolves here two or three weeks ago and they are really strong," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told LiverpoolFC.com. "We won, yes, but we knew it was really tough here. Now we played today, they didn't change a lot -- if they changed something -- so that's not easy. Do I expect? I always expect a lot more from the players."
"Do I think they could have delivered [more] today? I am not 100 percent sure. It's not my job to say now, 'that was not good enough, that was not good enough' because I know they can do much better. I changed a lot because I thought we had to, not because I wanted to and to say, 'come on, let's have a look at how that works' because it was clear Wolves would not change a lot. The problem is, we played a similar lineup and had three tough games in the last couple of weeks, so it was clear we had to change. That's it, that's all."
Liverpool battles Brighton at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Falmer Stadium in Brighton, England. Wolves match up with Manchester City at 3 p.m. on Monday at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England. Wolves resume FA Cup play on Jan. 26.
"I think we played well," Wolves manager Nuno told the Wolves website. "I think we were very organized, very compact. We were hard to break and really go out. After we recovered the ball we had possession, we tried to stretch the pitch, so it was a very good performance from the boys today."
"It's a different approach. We go game by game. Next game is in the Premier League. It means a lot because it's a challenge, it's a trophy, and when the next game comes we'll approach it in the same way."
