Rúben Neves’s stoppage-time penalty confirmed Wolves’ third successive home win and with it, in all likelihood, their Premier League status.
With his long locks unfurled and old gold shirt ripped off, the Wolves captain did not look like a man desperate to leave Molineux as he, his teammates and the South Bank celebrated passionately his sixth goal of what is being cast as his final season with the club.
The penalty was awarded for a bad foul by Sam Johnstone, attempting to recover his first touch as Pedro Neto nipped in, allowing Wolves to move nine points clear of the relegation zone with five games left to play. They are now level on points with Crystal Palace who, losing for the first time since Roy Hodgson’s return, dominated for much of the game after Joachim Andersen’s own goal from Neves’s corner in the third minute.
Hodgson was satisfied with his team’s performance, while Julen Lopetegui does not accept Wolves are safe yet but is gratified to be on the way to proving the naysayers wrong. “No – we have to work a lot,” the Wolves head coach said. “To achieve our aim, we have to get more points. Four months ago, all the people thought it was impossible, now at least it is possible. Now we have hope. We have worked very hard and we must continue working very hard.”
It was the best start the shot‑shy Wolves could have hoped for, even if it did take a Palace player to score for them. From Neves’s corner, Andersen seemed to try to absolve himself of responsibility, raising his hands in the air, as if attempting to let the driven corner go past him. Unfortunately for the Denmark defender, the ball pinged off his toes and over the line via the underside of the crossbar.
It was not a good night for Andersen, who was withdrawn at half-time with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Chris Richards stepped across from right-back to perform creditably alongside Marc Guéhi but Hodgson is hopeful he does not lose his first-choice defensive pairing.
Palace have been as adept at winning from losing positions – six times – as Wolves have been at dropping leads, letting slip 18 points. So perhaps it was no surprise that Palace proceeded to dominate the final hour. José Sá saved their best effort six minutes from the break after a fine Palace move. Michael Olise crossed for Eberechi Eze to chest the ball down at the far post and tee up Luka Milivojevic to drive goalwards. Will Hughes got in the way but did well to lay off the ball for Albert Sambi Lokonga whose fierce shot from eight yards out was pushed behind.
Even though Craig Dawson headed over from a corner when perhaps he should have scored, Wolves’ reputation as a team who struggle after half-time was reflected in the game’s momentum. Their tally of 13 second‑half goals at the start of the night was the lowest in the Premier League; conceding 64% of their goals after half-time was the highest. Eze showed supreme technique when he took a clearance down with his right foot before dispatching an exquisite left-foot shot from the edge of the area that needed a brilliant tip‑over from Sá.
The game became increasingly fractious, with Diego Costa and Sá booked as Wolves disputed the decision‑making of the referee, Robert Jones. Even with Lopetegui reverting to a three‑man midfield in an effort to stem the flow, Palace still dominated, Wolves reduced to hacking the ball clear to no one until Neto and Adama Traoré were installed as a late front pairing.
It was the tenacity of Neto that earned them the spot-kick for their second goal, dispatched vehemently by Neves. Perhaps the Portuguese playmaker, starting again after being suspended for the previous two home wins, deserves to be playing for a Champions League club, but he continues to play as if Wolverhampton is home.
