Rayan Ait-Nouri scored a winner in the 95th minute to help Wolves produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. With a win against Gillingham in midweek, the Spaniard saw his team advance to the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup, but Yerry Mina gave Everton the perfect start with a header from Dwight McNeil’s corner to mark his comeback. Joao Moutinho wonderfully spotted Daniel Podence’s run in a great move that was launched from a deftly executed set-piece as Wolves eventually settled and equalized (22). During a tense second half, it appeared that neither team had exerted enough effort to convert one point into three, but deep in stoppage time, Wolves broke upfield and Adama Traore’s cross was diverted into Ait-path Nouri’s for an unkempt but brilliant finish.
Given Wolves’ five-year Premier League tenure, you’d have assumed Lopetegui had been in charge of the team for longer. There were shades of Nuno Espirito Santo in the way he and his coaching staff united in an emotional huddle to celebrate Ait-victory Nouri’s with essentially the final kick of his maiden league game in charge. This was a smash-and-grab at the conclusion of a match full of errors, but Wolves have the ability to extricate themselves from peril.
The hosts got off to the ideal start when Mina flicked home McNeil’s corner on seven minutes. Everton had lost their last two Premier League meetings against Wolves, as many as they had in their previous 12. Hugo Bueno couldn’t handle Mina, who was making his four-month comeback, as the Colombian headed the ball precisely into the bottom corner. Wolves had only earned four out of a potential 27 points in their previous nine Premier League losses, but they handled the defeat admirably. In minute 22, Podence scored his third goal of the year to tie the score after a great team effort.
As the veteran midfielder appeared to be winding up a shot, he saw Podence’s run behind Nathan Patterson to set up the forward, who collected the outrageous flick before slipping underneath Jordan Pickford. Ruben Neves and Podence worked the short-corner routine well to find their Portuguese compatriot Moutinho on the edge of the box. Moutinho, who is 36 years and 109 days old, surpassed Denis Irwin and Paul Ince to become the third-oldest player in Premier League history to assist a goal for Wolves.
Attempting to become the first manager since John Barnwell in November 1978 to win his first Premier League game in charge of Wolves, Lopetegui should have seen his team go down again when Nathan Collins’ sloppy clearance was intercepted by Idrissa Gueye. Anthony Gordon made a nice diagonal run, which the Everton midfielder picked out, but his finish was predictable and simple for Jose Sa to intercept. The halftime siren was met with a few jeers, but Lampard’s team talk resulted in an optimistic start for Everton after the restart.
Ben Godfrey made his first appearance since August due to a fractured fibula whilst Mina withdrew after 75 minutes due to a tight hamstring strain. Everton got closer when Gordon’s attempt was deflected into Godfrey’s path, but Neves hooked his drive off the line. Demarai Gray saw a free-kick go just wide. The home team had doubled their opponents’ attempts in the second quarter, but when the raucous home fans pushed their team forward, Everton was unprepared for the counterattack, and Wolves barbed their teeth to complete one of the comeback football scores of the weekend.
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