Wolverhampton Wanderers produced arguably their finest performance of the season by defeating a shellshocked Liverpool 3-0 at Molineux on Saturday, and the result reverberated around the Premier League, with the result a major statement of intent towards their relegation rivals that the Old Gold are ready to remain in the top flight.

Julen Lopetegui delivered a tactical masterclass against the Reds, and goals from Ruben Neves, Craig Dawson and a Joel Matip own goal surely has Jurgen Klopp fearing the worst for the rest of the season for his beleagured Liverpool side.

Despite signing the likes of Mario Lemina, Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha during the January transfer window, Saturday's performance would suggest that capturing Dawson for a fee of just £3.3m could prove to be Lopetegui’s finest piece of business last month, and that he must be unleashed on a regular basis to save Wolves' campaign.

The 6 foot 2 titan was thrust into action at the weekend as the 56-year-old gave him his club debut, and the defender didn’t let his boss down, delivering a stunning performance.

Displaying a striker's instinct, he rifled the ball into the Liverpool net from inside the penalty box to give Wolves a two-goal advantage inside 12 months, and his defensive performance was superb.

He achieved a Sofascore rating of 7.6/10, ranking him as Wolves’ third-best performer on the day behind Max Kilman and Neves, while he took 59 touches and completed 89% of his passes during the match.

The 32-year-old made a staggering seven clearances, blocked two shots and made one tackle, also winning three duels, and his experience and physicality were crucial advantages which prevented Liverpool from finding the net.

Should the Molineux faithful be surprised at how well he performed, considering his vast defensive acumen and the fact he has been playing at the highest level for more than a decade? Although he didn’t enjoy the best of periods at West Ham United earlier this season, with a Sofascore rating of less than 7.0 for all but one of his final eight matches for the east London club, he was solid throughout 2021/22.

Across 34 Premier League appearances last term, Dawson won 56% of his duels and made 4.1 clearances, 0.9 interceptions and 0.9 tackles per game, ranking as the seventh-best performer in the West Ham squad.

David Moyes described him as a “warrior” following a Europa Conference League match against Silkeborg at the beginning of the season, and Lopetegui certainly seems to have pulled off a real bargain by securing the 32-year-old services for under £4m.

Saturday's performance will give the Wolves manager some food for thought, and Dawson should now be unleashed on a regular basis as he could save his new club’s campaign and help them to avoid relegation from the Premier League.