Suarez Visibly Upset About Substitution

With Liverpool clinging to a 2-1 lead in the 82nd minute, the Anfield faithful rose and gave a rousing ovation at the sight of a green No. 8 being held on the fourth official's board, signifying the first Anfield appearance by captain Steven Gerrard since last spring.

Gerrard's highly anticipated home appearance came in place of Luis Suarez, and the striker made no attempt to hide his anger at being lifted from such a close contest. Suarez, who always wears his emotions on his sleeve, smashed a water bottle before spending the rest of the match shaking his head on the bench, a noticeable distraction from a close encounter on the pitch.

Suarez spent the entire match tormenting a Wolves' backline that seemed incapable of handling his otherworldly blend of balance and close control, with the Uruguayan creating a steady stream of opportunities for the Reds. Indeed, it was Suarez's brilliant 38th-minute goal, where he toyed with Christophe Berra before beating Wayne Hennessey near post, which proved to be decisive in handing Liverpool all three points.

However, with Liverpool hanging onto a lead, Kenny Dalglish's decision to replace a striker with an extra midfielder is a relatively common and tactically sound switch when trying to close a game. Furthermore, despite Suarez showing no signs of slowing down, the attacker has already logged heavy minutes in the early season and Dalglish will be looking to spare his star player's legs at every opportunity.

For his part, Dalglish has made no mention of Suarez's angry reaction, instead focusing on what was a dazzling performance.

"Luis has been outstanding since he came to the football club, not just on the pitch but off it as well. We are very fortunate to have him," said Dalglish after the match. "We look forward to many more happy days with him here because he's a fantastic footballer."

Dalglish is rarely one to criticize his players in public, and certainly shares Suarez's hyper-competitive disposition, but one would assume that the manager will privately speak with his pupil about calling negative attention toward himself while the team was fighting to earn a tough home win.