Wolves 3 Everton 0 - Report

The hosts had control of the game from the very first minute and took the lead through Max Kilman, for only his second Wolves goal, two years after his first which also came at home to the Toffees.

A dominant second half display was lit up by Matheus Cunha who finished off a lovely Wolves move for the second, before assisting Craig Dawson’s goal to make it 3-0.

Wolves remained comfortable throughout the remaining minutes as they ended 2023 in style.

Analysis

Gary O’Neil made two changes to his side and stuck with the 5-2-3 formation.

Dawson returned from injury and replaced Santi Bueno, while Tommy Doyle came in for Mario Lemina, who had flown back to France following the sad death of his father.

And early in the first half the Wolves fans loudly chanted Lemina’s game to show their support.

Wolves started brightly and saw Hwang Hee-chan have a shot blocked early on, before a huge chance should have put them ahead. A three on one counter-attack saw Cunha race away and release Hwang, but the forward tried to round goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and as he failed to shoot, the chance was lost.

Cunha then had an effort from distance flash just wide of the post, as the hosts searched for the opening goal.

Wolves were in control of the game and took the lead after 25 minutes. A superb Cunha cross was attacked by Dawson and saved by Pickford before a goalmouth scramble resulted in Kilman tapping home from close range. In the celebrations, the captain ran to the dugout to collect a Lemina shirt and hold it up with his team-mates.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin wasted a good chance when he fired wide, before Nelson Semedo’s cross was almost turned home by Pablo Sarabia as Wolves looked for a second goal.

The Everton striker was played through on goal late in the half and as he looked to round Jose Sa, the goalkeeper got down well to steal the ball from him. Calvert-Lewin was then flagged offside, but Sa did well to stop him during the moment.

As the second half got under way, Wolves almost scored when Semedo burst down the right and his deep cross almost found the top corner, with Pickford scrambling.

With Wolves still in control of the contest, it took them just eight second half minutes to double their lead. A sublime Sarabia pass found Hwang on the right as he raced into the box and crossed low to put the ball on a plate for Cunha to finish at the back post.

Wolves were creating chances at will and almost scored a third when a mix-up between Michael Keane and James Tarkowski allowed Hwang to steal the ball and charge at goal, but his shot was deflected onto the post.

However, just minutes later, Wolves had their third. Cunha’s cross came through to Dawson who stuck a leg out at it from 10 yards and wrong-footed Pickford.

Everton almost got back into the game when Dwight McNeil took aim from distance and smashed the crossbar.

At the other end, a wonderful Wolves move ended with Joao Gomes seeing an effort saved. Moments later, Cunha played Hwang in but he also saw his shot saved. The South Korean then did score before rightly being flagged offside.

After 80 minutes, Pedro Neto made his return to the field after two months out with a hamstring injury.

And the winger almost scored when Boubacar Traore won possession and released him. Neto raced towards goal but fired well over the bar.

Wolves then capitalised on an Everton mistake and Neto fired in a fourth goal, only for it to be flagged offside.

In the end, they settled for a 3-0 win in which Wolves controlled the action and impressed.

Key Moments

GOAL 25 Kilman taps home for Wolves

GOAL 53 Cunha doubles Wolves’ lead

GOAL 61 Dawson adds a third

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo (Doherty, 85), Kilman, Dawson, Toti, Ait-Nouri (H.Bueno, 73), Doyle, Gomes (Traore, 85), Sarabia (Bellegarde, 80), Hwang, Cunha (Neto, 80).

Subs not used: Bentley, S.Bueno, Hodge, Kalajdzic.

Everton: Pickford, Patterson (Coleman, 63), Keane (Gomes, 63), Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Onana, Garner, McNeil (Danjuma, 74), Harrison, Calvert-Lewin (Beto, 74).

Subs not used: Virginia, Godfrey, Hunt, Dobbin, Chermiti.