Liverpool humbled at home by Wolves to cap off worrisome week

First-half goals from Wolverhampton Wanderers' Richard Stearman and Andreas Weimann consigned Liverpool to its third home defeat in little over a week on Saturday.

With the Championship side dropping deep in the latter stages, Reds striker Divock Origi converted from around three yards on 86 minutes, but it proved to be only a consolation.

In eight days, Jurgen Klopp's lot has been shamefully beaten 3-2 by Swansea City in the Premier League, when the Welsh outfit was propping up the bottom of the table, was ditched from the League Cup semi-final by Southampton, and has now been booted from the FA Cup fourth round by second-tier Wolves.

It also marks the first time Klopp has suffered three consecutive home defeats as a manager since he was handling FSV Mainz in 2007, with the last time Liverpool suffered that fate coming in the early days of Brendan Rodgers' reign in Oct. 2012.

The Reds were on the back foot merely seconds into the encounter. Stearman, back at Wolves on a loan term from Fulham, made the most of a delicious in-swinging delivery from Helder Costa before a minute had elapsed on Merseyside. There was a hint of offside when the free-kick was taken, but the header was expertly directed beyond the grasp of Loris Karius and into the bottom corner.

Wolves' second came courtesy of a devastating counter-attack - exactly where Liverpool can prove susceptible when exerting a high press at the other end of the park.

Costa was again the creator, bursting forward and riding an unruly tackle from Alberto Moreno before sliding a ball through for Weimann. The Austrian mustered just 17 goals for Aston Villa in 133 Premier League appearances but has a knack of arrowing past Liverpool, and made no mistake after rounding Karius.

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In a match which featured the attacking talents of Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, and exciting youngster Ben Woodburn, Klopp's attack still lacked the penetration that it had boasted over the first half of the 2016-17 campaign.

Origi's late effort wasn't enough to rouse Liverpool - which mirrored the subdued atmosphere in Anfield - and it failed to reach the fifth round of a competition it has won seven times, with the last occasion coming in 2006.

The day belonged to Wolves, a club with renewed expectations under the ownership of Guo Guangchang and seemingly the whims of super agent Jorge Mendes. The 18th-placed Championship side is the first in the hat for Monday's FA Cup fifth-round draw.

"We knew we had to start well. We needed to be on the front foot," Wolverhampton native Stearman told BBC Sport after the final whistle.

"You can see the celebrations from the fans, it's going to carry on late into the night. We are delighted to be in the next round."