LONDON: Liverpool suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, handing manager Juergen Klopp a third home defeat in a row.

Wolves winger Helder Costa turned in a virtuoso performance with a hand in both his team’s first-half goals to leave Anfield stunned.

The visitors went ahead in the first minute when Costa swung in a free kick from the right and Richard Stearman headed the ball past a flailing Loris Karius after wriggling free of his marker at the far post.

The Championship team, whose last visit to Anfield in the FA Cup was 65 years ago, extended their lead five minutes before halftime with a sublime breakaway after Liverpool lost possession in the Wolves penalty area.

The ball came to Costa, who raced towards the Liverpool box before evading Alberto Moreno’s despairing challenge and playing in Andreas Weimann, who took one touch to get past the onrushing Karius and another to slot home.

Liverpool, fourth in the Premier League, had won only one of their seven games in 2017 and Klopp threw on Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Emre Can to try to spark a revival.

Divock Origi grabbed an 86th-minute consolation for the hosts to ensure a frenetic end to the match, but Wolves defended grimly and threatened constantly on the counter-attack.

Published in Dawn January 29th, 2017