Liverpool have moved into the Premier League top six courtesy of beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 at Anfield this evening.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were the goalscorers for Jurgen Klopp's side, who came alive during the second half.
It was an even contest up until the hour mark, but once Van Dijk opened the scoring from a set piece, Liverpool ran out comfortable winners.
Wolves remain embroiled in a relegation battle, just three points above the drop zone, following three games without a win.
During a low-key first half, it was the visitors who had the best chance of early exchanges, with Joao Moutinho testing Alisson low at his front post.
From the resulting corner, Pablo Sarabia narrowly missed making contact with a dangerous delivery with the goal at his mercy.
Wolves struggled to threaten much more for the rest of the night, as Harvey Elliott missed two decent chances for the hosts at the end of the first 45.
The first big talking point came shortly before the hour, when Fabinho went in very high on Mario Lemina, but referee Paul Tierney only opted to brandish the yellow card.
The visitors, and Lemina, were incensed, but the Brazilian avoided any further punishment from VAR.
Soon after, there was another contentious decision, as Liverpool thought they had taken the lead midway through the second half, when a mazy run from Diogo Jota and a scramble in the area saw the ball fall to Darwin Nunez, who swept it beyond Jose Sa.
However, on VAR review, a foul by Jota on Max Kilman was spotted as he made his charge towards the goal, and Nunez saw his strike chalked off.
Liverpool did not have wait too long to find the net again though, and this time it stood, as Van Dijk reacted quickly after initially being denied by Sa to nod home from close range after Jota pulled the ball back well from the byline.
The goal, and a clean sheet, rounded off a perfect week for the Dutchman, as Van Dijk was named in the FIFPro World XI on Monday.
Liverpool were not finished at just one though, as moments later Salah got in on the act when he was on hand to bundle the ball home after some great work down the left flank by Kostas Tsimikas.
At 2-0, Liverpool comfortably saw the game out to claim an all important three points in the chase for the top four.
The Reds now find themselves just six points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fourth, while still having a game in hand, and they face Manchester United in a heavyweight clash on Sunday.
Wolves, meanwhile, welcome Spurs to Molineux at the weekend, but they do have the benefit of playing before most of their relegation rivals, so they will hope to put the pressure on by claiming a result there.
Andrew Delaney
