Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table as Mohamed Salah’s penalty handed them a 2-1 victory over Wolves at Molineux.

Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Newcastle United earlier on Saturday handed Arne Slot’s Reds the chance to go top, and Salah hit the winner from the spot after Nelson Semedo fouled former Wolves forward Diogo Jota.

Ibrahima Konate had nodded Liverpool into the lead before his mistake at the other end allowed Rayan Ait-Nouri to briefly draw Wolves level early in the second half.

Wolves never looked likely to equalise for a second time as their wait for a first win of the season continued, with Liverpool going close to a third goal on a couple of occasions.

While the result took Liverpool one point clear of City and Arsenal at the summit, Wolves remain rooted to the bottom, with only one point from six matches.

How the match unfolded

Despite injuries and illness leaving them short, Wolves kept Liverpool at bay for the majority of the first half, with Dominik Szoboszlai’s 40th-minute close-range shot straight at Sam Johnstone the best chance the visitors generated.

Wolves’ resolve was broken in first-half stoppage time, though – Johnstone failing to keep out Konate’s header after Jota crossed from the left.

Salah was gifted a chance for 2-0 after the restart, but he let Wolves off the hook by prodding wide after intercepting Mario Lemina’s pass.

A lapse at the other end got Wolves level as Konate went from Liverpool hero to villain. A mix-up between the center-back and Alisson allowed Jorgen Strand Larsen to steal possession, with his cutback eventually turned home by Ait-Nouri.

But within five minutes of the equaliser, Liverpool restored their advantage. Semedo pulled Jota back to concede a penalty, which Salah confidently dispatched.

Curtis Jones tested Johnstone at his near post as Wolves wilted after the second Liverpool goal, the visitors cruising to back-to-back wins and top spot.

Slot machine trundles on

Liverpool were far from their free-flowing best, but as was so often the case under Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp, they found a way to grind out the win.

Salah, Jota and Luis Diaz were kept quiet for much of the contest, with many of Liverpool’s best opportunities the result of Wolves’ insistence on playing out from the back in the face of a fierce press.

But when Jota got goal-side of Semedo to win a 61st-minute penalty, there was no doubt about the outcome, Salah crashing his spot-kick to Johnstone’s left to re-establish Liverpool’s lead.

Salah now has eight goal involvements in six Premier League games this term, a tally only bettered by Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer, and if this is going to be his final season at Liverpool, he is doing all he can to ensure the Reds look well placed to challenge on multiple fronts.

Slot’s Liverpool machine continues to chug along nicely, with Crystal Palace up next before the Reds face huge back-to-back matches against Chelsea and Arsenal – a pair of fixtures that will put their title credentials to the test.

Short-handed Wolves pay the price

It has been far from an ideal start to the season for Gary O’Neil’s Wolves, who had already faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Aston Villa in a daunting run of opening fixtures.

Wolves had shown plenty of positive attacking signs in those games, but a failure to remain solid at the other end has repeatedly proven costly, with six points dropped from winning positions in back-to-back losses to Newcastle and Villa.

Things got tougher for O’Neil this week, with Yerson Mosquera suffering a serious knee injury that will likely end his season, and fellow centre-back Craig Dawson sidelined by illness.

There was plenty to like about Wolves’ performance on Saturday, with the trio of Lemina, Joao Gomes and Andre particularly impressive as they disrupted Liverpool’s midfield, but two defensive lapses made the difference.

Johnstone should arguably have done better when attempting to keep out Konate’s first-half header, then Semedo was caught on his heels just moments after Wolves’ equaliser, recklessly dragging Jota to the ground at the back post.

The fixture list has not been kind to Wolves to start the season, but they must cut out the errors after shipping 16 goals in six league games. They go to Brentford next, before Manchester City visit Molineux after the international break.

Club reports

Wolves report | Liverpool report

Match officials

Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Darren England. VAR: Michael Salisbury. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.