Liverpool are into the FA Cup fourth round after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at Molineux tonight.
After an entertaining 2-2 draw at Anfield 10 days ago, Harvey Elliott's solitary goal was enough for Jurgen Klopp's side to win this Third Round replay in the West Midlands.
The current FA Cup holders will now face Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium in the next round - a side who they lost 3-0 to in the Premier League just a few days ago.
After such a good performance at Anfield, Julen Lopetegui may be disappointed that his Wolves side did not cause more problems for their opponents in what was a rather low-key affair.
With Darwin Nunez out injured and Mohamed Salah left on the bench, it was left in the hands of Liverpool's youth to get the job done tonight, and Elliott, as well as the impressive Stefan Bajcetic, helped Klopp's side through.
Lopetegui made the decision to leave the man in-form, Daniel Podence, on the bench here, but even his introduction could not turn the tide as Wolves posed very little threat on Caoimhin Kelleher's goal all night.
A momentary power cut inside the first 30 seconds, which received an ironic cheer from the Molineux crowd, was about as much as the Wolves fans had to get excited about tonight.
The deadlock was broken with the first real chance of the game, as a speculative 30-yard strike from Elliott caught Jose Sa well off his line and hit the back of the net to give the visitors an early lead.
From then on, it was all Liverpool in the opening 45 minutes, as Cody Gakpo looked lively and had a few sighters, while Kostas Tsimikas also fired over from close range.
Fabio Carvalho thought he had put the Reds two in front just before half-time, but the assistant's flag correctly ruled him offside.
The second half provided very few clear chances for either side, as Wolves struggled to find the killer pass to feed either Raul Jimenez or substitutes Diego Costa and Matheus Cunha.
Curtis Jones narrowly missed the target with an effort that would have sealed the win with just a minute left of the 90 for Liverpool, but the five minutes of added time proved fruitless for the hosts as their cup journey ended here.
It was a welcome relief for Liverpool after losing three of their last four matches away from home in all competitions, and Klopp will hope his side can take some confidence from this win to help improve on their league form, which has seen them slip to ninth.
This represents a second cup exit in the space of a week for Wolves, after they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Nottingham Forest last midweek.
Attention will now be firmly fixed on avoiding a relegation battle in the Premier League, but it is the treacherous trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City next up for Wolves.
Liverpool face Chelsea at Anfield at lunchtime on Saturday in a must-win game for two giants level on points in mid-table and seriously struggling for league form.
Andrew Delaney
