Everton 1 Wolves 2 - Report

The hosts took an early lead after seven minutes when they capitalised on soft Wolves defending and headed home through Yerry Mina.

Daniel Podence notched the equaliser after 22 minutes, before a poor second half that looked destined to fizzle out.

But a 95th minute counter-attack saw substitute Ait-Nouri grab a vital win for Wolves on their travels.

Analysis

Julen Lopetegui made one change from the team that beat Gillingham in the Carabao Cup last week, and stuck with a 4-3-3 formation.

Hwang Hee-chan came into the side as Goncalo Guedes dropped to the bench.

Frank Lampard also started in a 4-3-3 formation and was without Conor Coady, as the Wolves loanee was unable to play against his parent club.

Former Wolves man Ruben Vinagre made the bench.

Wolves made a good start to the game and their early pressure kept forcing Everton into mistakes. Wolves won the ball back in the home half several times in the opening minutes, as they looked for an opening on goal.

Despite that, it was the hosts that took the lead after seven minutes. A Dwight McNeil corner came in and as Hugo Bueno was bundled to the floor inside the box, it left Mina with a free header that he directed into the far corner. Bueno was far too lightweight and went down easily.

Following the goal, the home fans created a hostile atmosphere and Lampard’s players responded by flying into tackles. Once Wolves survived a dangerous five minutes, they got the ball down and began to play again.

Nelson Semedo and Hwang both got into good position on the right, but their crosses were cleared as Diego Costa tried to get on the end of one.

A neat turn from Podence in midfield saw Wolves launch a counter-attack, but they once again failed to move the ball quickly enough, as the chance fizzled out.

However, just after the 20-minute mark, Wolves equalised. A short corner from Podence was played to Ruben Neves, who crossed and found Joao Moutinho on the edge of the box, who took a touch and then dinked the ball back into the box. Podence arrived at the far post to volley the ball under Jordan Pickford, to send the travelling support wild.

The hosts had a big chance to regain the lead when a McNeil cross found Anthony Gordon in the box. The forward took a touch but was crowded out before he could get his shot away. Max Kilman lost him for that chance and was very fortunate.

Joe Hodge was exceptionally lucky when his terrible back pass put Neal Maupay through on goal. His touch was heavy and Semedo caught up to him as goalkeeper Jose Sa came out for a sliding tackle, helping Wolves to recover.

The visitors then had a massive chance of their own, when Bueno’s cross found Costa with a free header, but his effort was too close to Pickford.

In what was a frantic period, Everton should have scored again. A nice pass from Idrissa Gueye cut open the Wolves defence and Gordon was through, but Sa pulled off an incredible save.

A crazy error from Nathan Collins saw the ball hit the back of his heel as he attempted to let it run across his body, and it gave Maupay a chance to steal it. His shot was then saved by Sa.

An intense half, that saw two poor teams struggle to defend, ended with them level at half-time.

The first chance of the second half fell to Wolves, when Podence found Bueno on the left. His strong effort was palmed away by Pickford.

Kilman was fortunate that he did not make a lot of contact with Gueye, as the defender came in with a karate kick high boot on the midfielder. He was booked, when the home fans were calling for a red.

After a first half that offered up so much entertainment and several chances for both sides, largely due to the poor defending, the second half was much more subdued. Neither side had created many opportunities by the 70th minute, as the supporters became nervous and frustrated.

Raul Jimenez was about to come on for Costa but an injury to Podence meant Guedes came on instead. Minutes later, Wolves switched to a 5-2-3 and brought on Toti Gomes for Moutinho as the final substitution – meaning Jimenez would not be introduced. That call was a huge one, as Lopetegui aimed to see out a result.

Wolves needed Neves to save them when he made a clearance off the line, after Sa came for a free-kick and made a mess of it.

The home fans were frustrated with Everton’s desire to see the game out, and they were punished in the 95th minute. A swift counter-attack saw Matheus Nunes feed Adama Traore and his cross was turned home by Ait-Nouri in dramatic scenes that handed Wolves the win.

Key Moments

GOAL 7 Mina heads Everton ahead

GOAL 22 Podence volleys Wolves level

GOAL 95 Ait-Nouri grabs a late winner

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno (Ait-Nouri, 59), Neves, Hodge (Nunes, 59), Moutinho (Toti, 78), Podence (Guedes, 72), Costa, Hwang (Adama, 59).

Subs not used: Sarkic, Lembikisa, Ronan, Jimenez.

Everton: Pickford, Patterson, Mina (Godfrey, 76), Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Gueye (Doucoure, 83), Onana, Iwobi, McNeil (Gray, 56), Gordon, Maupay (Cannon, 83).

Subs not used: Begovic, Coleman, Holgate, Vinagre, Davies.