Wednesday’s briefing: Wolves stun Liverpool and Stanway stars for Lionesses

Premier League basement side Wolves claimed a stunning 2-1 win over Liverpool and Habib Diarra’s penalty helped Sunderland beat Leeds 1-0.

England got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start with a 6-1 victory over Ukraine, while Michael Carrick remains “realistic” about Manchester United’s title hopes.

Liverpool left stunned by Wolves

Bottom-of-the-table Wolves left it late to snatch a 2-1 Premier League victory over Liverpool and secure back-to-back league wins for the first time since April 2025.

The Premier League strugglers followed up their win over Aston Villa when Andre scored a last-gasp winner in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Rodrigo Gomes had sent Wolves ahead with their first shot of the game and Mohamed Salah scored for the first time in 10 league matches to level, but Andre had the final say to end Liverpool’s three-match winning run.

Reflecting on the match, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said: “Same old story. Recently we are picking up points because we scored many times from set-pieces. But end result, we score one and they scored two and another in extra time so it sums up our season again.

“My expectations have changed throughout the season because I expected more from us and what we are fighting for now. But, it’s another setback and we didn’t help ourselves with this result, not at all.”

Stanway stars in World Cup qualifier

Georgia Stanway was at the heart of England’s 6-1 World Cup qualifying win over Ukraine, which was held in Antalya due to the ongoing war in the hosts’ home country.

The Lionesses were denied by some solid defensive efforts from Ukraine in a goalless first half but Alessia Russo scored a quickfire brace shortly after the break, before Yana Kalinina soon replied.

Stanway restored England’s two-goal advantage with a penalty and the Bayern Munich midfielder soon struck again for her second of the evening before providing an assist for Jess Park, who also finished the game with a brace.

Reflecting on the match, goalscorer Russo told ITV: “It’s always nice to score quickly after half-time. It sets the tone. But our messaging in the dressing room was we’re happy with how we’re doing, but now we needed to find that ruthless edge.

“We were still positive about it. We knew we were dominating the ball, playing into the right areas. It was just about finding that final moment and that final pass or shot.”

Carrick “realistic” about title talk

Michael Carrick would not be drawn on suggestions his Manchester United side have entered themselves into the Premier League title race but said “you can’t rule anything out”.

United secured a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, their sixth win in seven outings since Carrick was appointed on an interim basis, lifting them into third where they are 13 points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.

Carrick said: “You can’t rule anything out in football, but we’ve got to be realistic and know where it’s at. I think we’ve just got to try and keep winning games and see.

“Above us now there’s two fantastic teams. There’s some really good teams in and around us. We’ve had a good run, we’re certainly not getting carried away. You’ve got to be patient but you’ve got to be living in the moment a little bit, certainly, take the confidence.

“Wherever that’s going to take us, we’ll just have to see. But we’ll keep pushing anyway…

“Definitely a glass is half full on what you can achieve more than the negative side, that’s for sure. Of course, I’m being realistic about it. We have to win a lot of football matches for that to happen, so we’ll do what we’ve been doing and go one at a time.”

Sunderland hit 40 points

Regis Le Bris believes Sunderland can start looking up the Premier League table after victory over Leeds saw them reach 40 points.

The Black Cats secured their first win in five league matches thanks to Habib Diarra’s penalty in the 70th minute, which was almost saved by Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

Victory lifts Sunderland into 11th with 40 points, while Leeds stay six points above the relegation zone.

When asked what was next for the Wearsiders, head coach Le Bris said: “Forty-three. I think step by step, this target was really important.

“We don’t know yet if it will be enough, because the season can be crazy and (relegation is) still possible, because the race will be intense.

“But we still have nine games to play and if we keep the same mindset we can have other targets, (maybe) a bit higher, we’ll see.”

What’s on today?

The midweek Premier League action continues with league leaders Arsenal travelling to Brighton and Manchester City in action against Nottingham Forest.

Chelsea face Aston Villa, Newcastle take on Manchester United at St James’ Park and Fulham come up against West Ham.

In the Scottish Premiership, Celtic will be aiming to close the gap on leaders Hearts when they take on Aberdeen.