Diaz opened the scoring in the 15th minute and the lead was doubled from the penalty spot by Mohamed Salah prior to half-time.

Matheus Cunha's 67th-minute curler pulled one back for Wolves but the Reds held on to restore their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Diogo Jota made his first Premier League start since October as one of two changes to the line-up deployed in the Merseyside derby. Trent Alexander-Arnold, making his 250th top-flight outing, was the other alteration.

Alisson, Van Dijk, Konate (Quansah, 46), Diaz (Endo, 71), Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Jota (Nunez, 64), Robertson, Gravenberch, Alexander-Arnold (Bradley, 64).

Unused subs: Kelleher, Chiesa, Elliott, Tsimikas, McConnell.

Liverpool worked a pair of unsuccessful attempts at goal inside 10 minutes – first Alexander-Arnold and then Jota – but would not have to wait much longer for the opener.

It came about from a swift break involving all three of the hosts' forwards, igniting when Jota did brilliantly to hold off and spin past Matt Doherty.

Diaz eventually bundled home to beat the onrushing Jose Sa in the Wolves net when attempting to chest Salah's return pass, which took a kind deflection off Toti Gomes.

As the Reds pressed for that second, Jota headed over, had a shot blocked by Toti and then tested Sa, with Dominik Szoboszlai seeing a daisy-cutter of his own narrowly miss the target.

Salah was the man to make it 2-0, clipping his spot-kick straight down the middle in the 37th minute after Sa was ruled to have brought down Diaz in the box.

Cunha's free-kick from a central area that went just wide was the closest Wolves came in the half.

The first chance after the interval fell to the visitors but the scoreline remained unchanged, thanks to Alisson Becker coming out on top in a one-v-one with Marshall Munetsi.

Liverpool thought they had been awarded another penalty when referee Simon Hooper pointed to the spot when Jota went down under a challenge from Emmanuel Agbadou. However, VAR recommended a review that led to the decision being reversed.

Wolves were well and truly back into the contest when Cunha bent an effort from distance past the diving Alisson to halve the deficit.

That strike made it a nervy conclusion for Arne Slot's side but some backs-to-wall defending – including Jarell Quansah's excellent sliding intervention to deny Tommy Doyle – late on ensured the three points stayed with them.

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