Florian Wirtz's first goal for Liverpool proved decisive at Anfield as the hosts held on for a nervy 2-1 victory over bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wirtz poked beyond Jose Sa in the 42nd minute to seemingly put the Reds out of sight at 2-0 up, just 89 seconds after Ryan Gravenberch had opened the scoring from Jeremie Frimpong's assist.
Wolves refused to go down without a fight in the second half, with Santiago Bueno's scrappy finish from a corner inducing some anxiety among the home supporters.
However, the visitors were unable to find an equaliser on a day when both sets of fans paid tribute to their former forward Diogo Jota, at their first meeting since he passed away in July.
The victory lifts Liverpool, at least temporarily, above Chelsea into fourth place in the Premier League, while Wolves remain 16 points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
How the match unfolded
Liverpool went close early on when Hugo Ekitike faced up Yerson Mosquera and clipped an effort towards the far corner, only for the ball to bounce off the foot of a post.
The same upright was then rattled again by Alexis Mac Allister's ferocious volley amid a suspicion of offside against Ekitike, but Liverpool made their dominance of possession count with a quickfire double before the interval.
First, Frimpong's expert cutback was swept home by Gravenberch in the 41st minute.
Then, less than two minutes later, Wirtz peeled off the back of Bueno to prod home after being found by Ekitike.
But Bueno atoned for that defensive lapse six minutes into the second half, offering the away fans hope with a stabbed finish on the rebound following Tolu Arokodare's saved header.
Curtis Jones and Mac Allister both tried their luck from distance, with the former being denied by Sa and the latter sending his strike fizzing past the far post.
But Liverpool had to survive a nervy finish, with Arokodare nodding Jackson Tchatchoua's hanging cross over the bar to let the hosts off the hook.
Wirtz off the mark, but Slot left with issues to resolve
Teething problems were always likely when Liverpool opted to refresh their 2024/25 title-winning squad by signing several new players, with Wirtz among them.
But the German found adapting to life in the Premier League difficult, failing to score or assist in his first 15 appearances in the competition.
His wait for a goal involvement ended when he assisted Alexander Isak's opener in last week's 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur, and he capped a lively display in the first half of this game with a confident one-on-one finish.
Wirtz's former Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Frimpong also made an impressive contribution, darting to the byline and lifting his head to find Gravenberch unmarked for the first goal.
However, Wirtz's influence waned in the second half as Liverpool failed to maintain control. Arne Slot spoke of his frustration at the Reds' set-piece struggles before kick-off, and Ibrahima Konate was beaten to Andre's inswinging corner by Arokodare, just before Bueno scored.
Dominik Szoboszlai's one-match suspension also left Liverpool somewhat lightweight in midfield, and Slot will hope the Hungarian's return can make a difference when they face a much-improved Leeds United at Anfield on New Year's Day.
Wolves claim unwanted record, but Mane and Arokodare provide positives
Christmas Day was also Rob Edwards' 43rd birthday, but his team had failed to provide him with anything to celebrate in his first six matches at the helm.
Wolves had been level at half-time in all of those matches but still failed to earn a point, and although they kept Liverpool at bay for 41 minutes here, Gravenberch's opener seemed to rock their confidence before Bueno failed to hold the defensive line for Wirtz's goal.
Eighteen-year-old winger Mateus Mane was a bright spark at the other end on his first Premier League start, though. He worked Alisson with a snapshot towards the bottom-left corner, then fired another attempt into the Kop following a positive run from halfway.
Mane played as close as possible to towering striker Arokodare to feed off his knockdowns, and it was the Nigerian's aerial prowess that forced Bueno's goal, breathing fresh life into the contest.
Arokodare later missed Wolves' best chance to snatch a point, but he and Mane showed plenty to suggest they could have major roles to play for Wolves in the future.
That future looks increasingly likely to be in the Championship, though, as Wolves' two points from 18 games now represents the worst start to a season in Premier League history. Manchester United are up next for Edwards' side, at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Club reports
Liverpool report | Wolves report
What the managers said
Arne Slot: "For a long time until it was 2-1, the game was going the way I wanted it to go. We had complete control of the game, constantly attacking and we scored two goals in 90 seconds. Then we conceded, not for the first time from a set piece. But the positive thing about all of this is that for a large part of this season, when we've conceded from a set piece, we've lost the game. In the last two games, we were able to win, even if we conceded. We don't want to rely on that - we know we have to improve in that part, that is clear and obvious."
Rob Edwards: "We showed good character after going 2-0 down. It was really frustrating to concede the second goal in the manner that we did. We just regained the ball, lost the duel, jumped out and opened up spaces for him [Wirtz] to score a second. This place can go crazy, it can become like a washing machine with the noise, and you can concede quickly. We actually then played very, very well in the second half. We showed a lot of character, bravery and good quality, we were aggressive. In the second half, we were the team that I want us to be, and we can hopefully take a lot from that."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Wirtz netted his first goal for Liverpool with what was his 21st shot in the Premier League (seventh on target) – he’s now recorded a goal involvement in each of his last two games in the competition (one goal, one assist).
Liverpool have won each of their last three Premier League games, earning more points (nine) than their previous 10 matches in the competition (eight – W2 D2 L6).
Only Ipswich Town in 1994 (26) have lost more Premier League games in a calendar year than Wolves, with today being their 25th defeat in 2025.
Wolves have failed to win any of their opening 18 Premier League games this season (D2 L16) – only Bolton Wanderers in 1902/03 have endured a longer wait before their first win of a top-flight campaign in England (23rd game).
Only Sunderland in September 2005 (20) and Norwich City in September 2021 (16) have lost more successive Premier League games than Wolves’ ongoing run of 11.