Wolves 1 (Cunha 66) Crystal Palace 3 (Olise 26, Mateta 28, Eze 73)
Wolves’ Molineux campaign ended on a disappointing note, as Matheus Cunha’s second half strike proved in vain in a 3-1 win for the South Londoners.
The Eagles deserved their first half lead, earned through Michael Olise’s curling effort and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s tap in, after Nathaniel Clyne had hit the Wolves upright during a frustrating opening period.
Cunha brought the game back to life when he fired home in the second half, following good work by Hee Chan Hwang, but Eberechi Eze ended the game as a contest seven minutes after the Brazilian’s goal, rounding Dan Bentley to tap home.
Molineux has hosted some of the Old Gold’s finest afternoons this season, and for the final time this season, Palace were the visitors to WV1. With both clubs assured of mid-table finishes, the pressure was off slightly, but Gary O’Neil won’t have liked the sloppy play which allowed Eze to fire the first shot wide of the mark.
However, the hosts didn't learn their lesson, and when Joao Gomes was beaten to a stray pass by a Palace shirt, the visitors worked the ball to Olise, who was allowed to come inside a curl an impressive finish into the far corner, beyond the dive of Bentley.
And within the blink of an eye, Palace doubled their advantage. Olise was in full flight down the right, with Toti backing off, and his clipped pass found Clyne in space within the Wolves box and his shot was diverted on to the post, but Mateta was the benefiter of the rebound, slammed into an open goal for 2-0.
The closest Wolves came to a first half strike came late in the 45. Rayan Ait-Nouri got to the byline and came back inside on his right, before whipping in an inviting cross for Matt Doherty, who got a firm header to it, only to watch Dean Henderson tip the ball on to the crossbar, before Palace cleared their lines eventually.
Half-time | Wolves 0-2 Crystal Palace
The half-time introduction of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde made O’Neil’s intention’s clear and Wolves were quickly on the attack, with Cunha firing straight at Henderson, while at the other end Maximilian Kilman was well-placed to clear a Joachim Andersen header.
The next goal was always going to be vital, and after a period of improvement from Wolves, they claimed it. Nelson Semedo fed Cunha, who slipped in Hwang and the South Korean’s ball was diverted to Cunha to fire into the roof of the net. The offside flag was raised, but after a VAR check the decision was overturned and Wolves were back in it.
They could have had the equaliser seconds later too. Cunha got in down the right and squared for Hwang, with the goal gaping, but a retrieving Palace defender was able to put Hwang off, as he got his shot wrong and fired wide.
That momentum was short-lived however, and Palace restored the two-goal lead when Toti was caught high up the pitch, leaving Kilman exposed as Olise played Eze clean through, and the Palace man was composed enough to round Bentley and roll into the empty net.
Wolves did keep plugging away and Mario Lemina’s acrobatic volley was tipped over impressively by Henderson, while his fellow midfielder Gomes fashioned his own chance soon after, chipping the ball up for himself before slamming into the side netting.
O’Neil’s side did finish the stronger, and the Eagles finished a man light after Naouirou Ahamada received a second yellow card for a foul on Cunha, which initially also brought around a penalty, which was overturned by VAR for being outside of the box.
However, despite a late debut for Enso Gonzalez, Wolves couldn’t force the second goal, with Cunha shooting at Henderson late on, as Palace left with three points.
Full-time | Wolves 1-3 Crystal Palace
Wolves | Bentley, Doherty (Doyle 79), Semedo, Kilman, Toti (Gonzalez 90), Ait-Nouri (Sarabia 61), Traore (Bellegarde 45), Gomes, N Lemina, Cunha, Hwang.
Unused subs | King, S Bueno, H Bueno, Chirewa, N Lemina.
Crystal Palace | Henderson, Munoz, Clyne, Andersen, Richards, Mitchell (Guehi 70), Hughes (Ahamada 15), Wharton, Eze (Ward 88), Olise (Schlupp 88), Mateta (Edouard 69).
Unused subs | Matthews, Ayew, Rak-Sakyi, Ozoh.
