Keen to build upon their comprehensive thrashing of Luton Town last weekend, Brighton travelled to Molineux on Saturday. Wolves were narrowly defeated by Manchester United last time out, with the referees from that fixture dropped after failing to award a penalty in stoppage time when André Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic.
WOL: Sá; Aït-Nouri, Kilman, Dawson, Semedo; Nunes, Lemina, Gomes, Neto; Cunha, Silva
BHA: Steele; Estupiñán, Dunk, Webster, Milner; Gilmour, Groß; Mitoma, Enciso, March; Welbeck
An early disallowed goal at Molineux saw the home faithful crash into dejection after just three minutes, with Semedo creating a goalscoring opportunity for Lemina with a beautiful cut-back pass. From the edge of the box, the midfielder’s strike deflected off Neto – the Portuguese winger was offside, and the goal was promptly disallowed.
That squandered opportunity would come back to bite the hosts, who found themselves trailing after fifteen minutes. Mitoma’s opener was simply sensational, cutting inside from the left flank before dashing into the penalty area and unleashing a strike into the bottom corner. Estupiñán will register the assist – but make no mistake, it was a moment of sheer individual excellence from the Japanese international.
It looked as through that lead would be doubled merely minutes later, with Groß firing a free-kick through a crowded penalty area in a bid to catch Sá napping. The ‘keeper remained alert though, claiming the German’s effort comfortably.
It was in the second half that the Seagulls truly burst into life though, with Estupiñán working his way onto the scoresheet with a low drive just 41 seconds after the restart.
Solly March looked to contribute too, with two close-range goals wrapping up an impressive performance at Molineux in front of Gareth Southgate.
Hwang was able to net a consolation goal on an otherwise dire day for Wolves fans, though the situation would be worsened further as Nunes was dismissed late on for a second yellow card offence.
Wolves will look to pick up their first points of the campaign against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, while table-topping Brighton prepare to host West Ham in the evening kickoff.
