Florian Wirtz's first Premier League goal proved to be the winner as Liverpool clung on to beat rock-bottom Wolves 2-1 at Anfield.

Wirtz poked beyond Jose Sa in the 42nd minute to seemingly put the Reds out of sight at 2-0 up, only 89 seconds after Ryan Gravenberch broke the deadlock.

Liverpool largely dominated the first half, with both Hugo Ekitike and Alexis Mac Allister striking Jose Sa's left-hand post before their quickfire double shortly before the interval.

Gravenberch swept home after Jeremie Frimpong picked him out with an expert cutback, then Wirtz prodded past Sa after staying onside to receive Ekitike's threaded pass.

But Wolves – who had earlier seen lively teenage winger Mateus Mane test Alisson from the edge of the area – refused to go down without a fight in the second half.

Santiago Bueno reacted quickest when Alisson clawed Tolu Arokodare's towering header off the line, inducing some anxiety among the home fans.

Wolves' best chance to snatch a point fell to Arokodare, who had replaced Jorgen Strand Larsen in the visitors' starting lineup, but he nodded Jackson Tchatchoua's hanging cross over to let Liverpool off the hook.

While the victory lifts Liverpool, at least temporarily, above Chelsea and into fourth place, Wolves remain 16 points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest. 

Data Debrief: Wirtz breaks duck, Wolves claim unwanted record

Wirtz's maiden Premier League goal had been a long time coming, arriving from his 21st shot in the competition and in his 17th outing in the English top flight.

He has now recorded a goal involvement in back-to-back Premier League games, having also assisted Alexander Isak's goal in a 2-1 win at Tottenham last week.

But Liverpool were far from convincing, only narrowly outshooting Wolves (14 to nine) and creating marginally more expected goals (1.56 xG to 1.07).

Rob Edwards has now lost all seven of his games since returning to Molineux as head coach, with Wolves' ongoing run of 11 successive Premier League defeats being the third-worst in the competition's history, after Sunderland (a run of 20 in September 2005) and Norwich City (16 in September 2021).

And with just two points on the board after 18 matches, Wolves have officially made the worst start to any Premier League season.

Only Bolton Wanderers (23 games in 1902-03) have ever endured a longer wait for their first victory at the start of an English top-flight campaign.