Wolves 1 Brighton 4
Gary O’Neil will have felt aggrieved with his side coming away from Old Trafford with nothing to show for their efforts on Monday night, welcoming in-form Brighton to Molyneux, offered a chance for his side put things right.
Every football fan up and down the country who did not own a Man Utd top had felt the same after his side were denied a late penalty at Old Trafford when Andre Onana pole-axed Sasa Kalajdzic, getting nowhere near the ball whatsoever. The fact that VAR reviewed it and didn’t overrule the referee’s decision just makes the system seem about as effective as a choclate teapot.
Wolves almost made a perfect start to the game when Fabio Silva put the ball in the back of the net but he was ruled to be offside when he picked up the ball from Lemina’s scuffed shot to score. The replay showed that it was a good decision by the assistant referee.
When Brighton picked up Kaoru Mitoma for £2.6m they knew they had picked up a bargain but could not have known how well he would take to the Premier League. He picked up the ball on the halfway line and ghosted passed several Wolves players before getting into the box, slotting the ball into the net when Jose Sa came out to try and smother him. A fantastic solo goal by the Japanese international.
Credit: @OfficialBHAFC
Fabio Silva almost got the hosts back on level terms but as he ran through one on one with the keeper, Jason Steele made a great save to deny the striker. He then combined well with Ait-Nouri to put the full-back through on goal but he could not keep his shot down and failed to test the Brighton keeper.
The Seagulls started the second half on the front foot and March put Welbeck through on goal but when Sa saved the effort, the ball dropped to Mitoma who unselfishly squared it to Estupinan who calmly finished to double the visitors’ lead.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side looked lethal on the break and as Enciso was put away down the left, he put it on a plate for March to drill home to make it two goals in five minutes. The visitors grew in confidence and it was Enciso who set up March once again and he guided the ball in off the post to make it 4-0 to Brighton with only 55 minutes on the clock.
Wolves are struggling for goalscorers and as Semedo whipped a free kick into the box, Lemina got a touch on it, only to see his effort come back off the crossbar. From the resulting corner, Hwang met the cross with a header back across goal with the ball nestling into the bottom corner.
It offered some hope to Gary O’Neil’s side with half an hour still remaining. Matheus Nunes was then shown a yellow card for trying to prevent Brighton from taking a quick free kick, as part of the new directives for refereeing this season.
Hwang did well cutting in from the left, beating several Brighton players before dummying a shot to send two defenders off to the shops. He unselfishly squared the ball to the unmarked Ait-Nouri but instead of hitting it first time, the player decided to take a touch, allowing the visitors to get men back to clear the ball.
Credit: @OfficialBHAFC
As Wolves continued to press, Nunes seemed to lose his mind when he couldn’t get to the ball and pushed two Brighton players over before the referee showed him a second yellow card, giving him his marching orders in added time. The Portuguese midfielder seemed to channel his inner Paulo Di Canio in the closing moments.
Brighton continue their impressive run and sit top of the Premier League following their two 4-1 victories to start the season, while Gary O’Neil will need to find a striker before the transfer window closes and then persuade the owners to part with some of the Ruben Neves money to buy them.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.