A Nordi Mukiele opener and an own goal from defender Ladislav Krejčí sealed all three points for The Black Cats as they continued their unbeaten run at home.
As it happened
Sunderland entered today’s game on the back of a disappointing performance against a struggling Manchester United side, where they were second best and fell to a 2-0 defeat. Back on home soil after back-to-back away games, Régis Le Bris’ side were keen to extend their unbeaten run at home and put themselves back into the top seven of the Premier League.
Vítor Pereira’s Wolves have had a torrid start to their season so far, picking up just two points and are yet to clinch victory so far this season. However, they have seen an uptick in performances, with draws to Spurs and Brighton providing The Old Gold with optimism as they travelled to Wearside.
Sunderland started the game brightly and thought they had taken the lead when Wilson Isidor slotted home his fourth goal of the season, but the Frenchman was judged to be offside in the build-up. The Black Cats continued to press and it wasn’t long before full back Nordi Mukiele took advantage of a brilliant Trai Hume pass to give Sunderland the lead on the quarter hour mark.
A side full of confidence, Sunderland continued to press and almost doubled their lead as Hume’s header bounced back of the crossbar. Wolves began to grow into the game as the first half went on and chances for Jackson Tchatchoua and Jørgen Strand Larsen went wide of goalkeeper Robin Roef’s goal.
The West Midlands side began to dominate as the second half went on, consistently putting pressure on the Sunderland penalty area but offering little in the way of clear cut chances. Wolves bombarded the home side with crosses, amassing to 31 in total, but the strong Sunderland defence of Dan Ballard and Omar Alderete were equal to everything the visitors were throwing at them.
The away side’s’ dominance ultimately led to their downfall. As a result of a poor Wolves corner, Sunderland were able to break thanks to a strong run from Chemsdine Talbi, who looked to square the ball to Enzo Le Fée, but it ended up being inadvertently turned into the Wolves net by the tracking back defender Ladislav Krejčí. His uncoordinated feet turned the ball into the back of Sam Johnstone’s net, confirming the three points for the home side and capping off yet another disappointing display from Wolves.
The result takes Sunderland up to seventh – Le Bris has guided his side to their best home start to a season since 1968. They have amassed more points at home so far this season than any other team. Wolves, however, stay rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and are now six months without a win as pressure on Pereira grows.
The lineups
SUN: Roefs; Hume, Alderete, Ballard, Mukiele; Sadiki, Xhaka; Le Fée, Rigg, Traoré; Isidor
WOL: Johnstone; H.Bueno, Krejčí, S.Bueno, Doherty; J.Gomes, André, Munetsi; Gomes, Strand Larsen, Arias