Wolves 0 Brighton 2 (Welbeck 28, Gruda 85)
Wolves suffered defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Molineux on Saturday afternoon – their Premier League home reverse since February.
Goals either side of half-time handed the visitors all three points on a frustrating afternoon for the Old Gold, with Danny Welbeck converting a penalty to give Brighton the lead at the break.
In a largely uneventful second half, Brajan Gruda sealed all three points for the Seagulls with a goal five minutes from time, consigning Wolves to back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since last January.
Fresh from being named the Premier League Manager of the Month for April, Vitor Pereira looked to guide his side to a swift response after their defeat at Manchester City last Friday.
The hosts started brightly at Molineux and had the first opening of the game. Matheus Cunha clipped a free-kick into the penalty area, picking out Goncalo Guedes’ well-timed run. Guedes connected with the delivery, but while turning, could only lift his effort over the crossbar.
Wolves continued to apply pressure on their visitors, but it was Brighton who found the back of the net twice in five minutes. Welbeck was denied an opening goal in the 23rd minute after he met Tariq Lamptey’s cross, steering the ball under Jose Sa and into the bottom corner. However, the goal was ruled out due to Yankuba Minteh’s interference from an offside position.
Welbeck, though, wouldn’t be denied a second time. Just shy of the half-hour mark, Mats Wieffer won possession high up the pitch for the visitors, before being brought down by a lunging Cunha inside the penalty area. Welbeck stepped up and converted the resulting spot-kick.
Clear openings were hard to come by for Wolves during the first half, with Bart Verbruggen being forced into action on just two occasions. First, Marshall Munetsi connected with Nelson Semedo’s cross with a close-range header, which was safely gathered by Verbruggen.
Moments later, Rayan Ait-Nouri danced into the penalty area with smart footwork to weave himself through Brighton’s defence. However, as he tried to get the ball out of his feet, he could only snatch at his effort and watch it loop into Verbruggen’s gloves.
Half-time | Wolves 0-1 Brighton
The opening exchanges of the second half were cagey, as neither side grabbed control of proceedings, leaving the contest lacking quality.
Just before the hour mark, however, Cunha injected some life into the game with a near-equaliser. He played a sharp give and go with Ait-Nouri just outside the penalty area, before firing goalwards and forcing Verbruggen into a smart save down to his right.
Following a lacklustre start to the second half from both sides, the Wolves boss turned to his bench, introducing a quartet of changes, including the returning Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Soon after the substitutions, Ait-Nouri surged into the penalty box and squared the ball across goal, aiming to give Strand Larsen a goal with his first touch of the game. However, the ball was cut out before it could reach Wolves’ number nine, preventing the hosts an equaliser.
As the game approached the final 10 minutes, Wolves’ frustrations grew as they struggled to build momentum for a comeback. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde came closest to an equaliser, seeing his effort from inside the penalty area fly over the crossbar – their best chance since Cunha’s effort earlier in the half.
Brighton then sealed the result five minutes from time, adding a second goal to compound Wolves’ frustration. Simon Adingra advanced to the edge of the area before neatly threading Gruda through one-on-one, and he lifted the ball over Sa to extend the visitors’ lead.
Despite a frustrating afternoon for the Old Gold, there was a moment of light when youngster Mateus Mane was introduced in the closing stages, making his Premier League debut, but Wolves would suffer defeat.
Full-time | Wolves 0-2 Brighton
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Doherty (R Gomes 58), Agbadou, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Andre (Mane 89), J Gomes (Bellegarde 59), Munetsi, Cunha (Strand Larsen 59), Guedes (Sarabia 59).
Unused subs | Bentley, Bueno, Traore, Djiga.
Brighton | Verbruggen, Lamptey (Adingra 59), Webster, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Wieffer, Baleba (Gomez 79), Ayari (Hinshelwood 90+6), O’Riley (Gruda 59), Minteh (Mitoma 80), Welbeck.
Unused subs | Steele, Igor, Julio, Cashin, Howell.
Referee | Michael Oliver
