Everton 0 Wolves 1 - Report

In what was a fairly poor and dull first half, Wolves failed to get into their rhythm while Everton fashioned a couple of chances, without being spectacular.

The biggest chance fell to Richarlison when he was sent through on goal, but Jose Sa made a strong and vital save.

Wolves had more control and were far more comfortable on the ball in the second half and only four minutes into the half, Liverpool supporter Coady gave Wolves the lead. He met a lovely Ruben Neves cross to direct a powerful header into the far corner in front of the travelling Wolves fans.

Everton were desperate for a way into the game but the home crowd became increasingly frustrated as they struggled to get a foothold. A red card for Jonjoe Kenny in the 79th minute then gave the hosts an uphill battle.

Wolves probed for a second goal and defended well against little resistance to secure back-to-back Premier League wins.

Bruno Lage made three changes to his side and switched to a 3-5-2 formation.

Max Kilman, Fernando Marcal and Leander Dendoncker came in as Willy Boly, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Daniel Podence dropped to the bench.

Pedro Neto travelled to Goodison Park but did not make the squad after suffering an impact injury to the top of his foot which he struggled to shake off in time for the fixture. It is not believed to be anything serious and young defender Toti Gomes took his place on the bench.

Following their 5-0 defeat to Spurs, Frank Lampard also made three changes as he changed to a 3-4-3 formation.

Vitalii Mykolenko, Ben Godfrey and Demarai Gray all came in – with the latter two returning from injury – as Michael Keane and Allan dropped to the bench. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was not involved in the squad.

In the opening seconds Richarlison had a half-chance when he unleashed a volley from long-range and although he caught it well, it did not trouble goalkeeper Sa.

Some of Everton’s early opportunities came from sloppy Wolves passes, as both Joao Moutinho and Jonny Castro Otto needlessly gave the ball away in the opening minutes.

Richarlison should have scored after six minutes when a ball over the top and in-behind Kilman from Mykolenko put the forward through on goal. Sa, however, stood firm and made a strong save.

Hwang Hee-chan went down with an injury early in the game and needed treatment on the pitch before getting up and playing on. But only 20 seconds later he hit the deck again and needed more treatment – before Hwang actually held his hands up and apologised to the booing home fans.

After one sprint forward Hwang then gestured to the bench that he needs to come off and he went down for a third time. Lampard and the home fans were furious before Hwang was replaced by Podence after 15 mins.

The game had been slowed down and was frankly mundane, with neither side getting on the ball. A mix-up between Marcal and Romain Saiss did give Anthony Gordon a chance to burst down the right, however, and his cross was collected by Sa just before Richarlison.

The most exciting moment Wolves created in the Everton box was when Podence theatrically threw himself to the floor after a spat with Jordan Pickford. There was nothing in it and started when both players were playfully slapping each other’s hands away, before Podence went down holding his face.

Raul Jimenez went for a spectacular effort when he caught an overhead kick nicely from 10 yards, following Podence’s cross, but he blazed over the bar. The chance came from a rare Wolves counter-attack.

Wolves were far more relaxed and had more of the ball in the opening minutes of the second half, before former captain Coady put Wolves ahead. A free-kick from the left was cleared but Dendoncker pulled the ball back for Neves on the right, who did well to deliver a teasing cross. Coady met it at the near post and directed a powerful header into the far corner.

Lage’s men were buoyed by the goal as the Everton faithful were frustrated at their team’s failings. A free-kick from Moutinho was met by Jimenez at the near post but his low effort was just wide of the post.

Moments later Podence raced forward, faked a pass to the right flank and aimed a low shot for the near post, that flashed wide.

Everton were still in the game, however, and Richarlison almost found the net when he met a Seamus Coleman cross, but directed his header just past the post.

The hosts made an attacking change in the 59th minute when Dele Alli replaced Mykolenko. That also meant a formation change to 4-2-3-1.

Wolves were doing very well at finding spaces in between the lines and with every pass the Everton supporters were growing frustrated. Neves was beginning to run the show and a sublime drop of the shoulder and run forward saw him slip Marcal in, but his low cross was collected by Pickford with Jimenez lurking.

The overriding feeling was that a second Wolves goal would kill the game off but Everton kept probing. Sa made a wonderful stop on Richarlison, before the officials flagged it as offside, before the forward was played in by Gray and his early shot hit the side netting.

In the 79th minute, as Everton chased the game, their task became even harder when Kenny was given a second yellow card for a late challenge on Jimenez.

Wolves were getting opportunities against a lacklustre Everton defence and in a four on three situation Podence, who was on the left, should have picked out Neves who was free on the right flank, but the winger made a hash of his pass.

Moments later, substitute Francisco Trincao curled a lovely effort with his left foot just high of the crossbar.

Another substitute, Fabio Silva, impressed with his cameo off the bench. The young striker was holding the ball up well and getting in behind – making himself a nuisance.

In the dying seconds of the game, after four minutes of added time, Moutinho gave a free-kick away on the edge of the box and handed Everton one last chance. Substitute Andros Townsend curled it just over the bar.

The whistle blew moments later as Wolves recorded an important away win and another three points.

Wolves: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Jonny, Dendoncker (Trincao, 82), Neves, Moutinho, Marcal, Hwang (Podence, 15), Jimenez (Silva, 88).

Subs not used: Ruddy, Boly, Gomes, Ait-Nouri, Cundle, Chiquinho.

Everton: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Godfrey, Coleman, Doucoure, van de Beek, Mykolenko (Alli, 59), Gordon, Richarlison, Gray (Townsend, 74).

Subs not used: Begovic, Keane, Allan, Gomes, Iwobi, El Ghazi, Rondon.