It is rare to see Wolves number one Joseq Sa being the architect of his team’s downfall, and the Portuguese goalkeeper watched on with a smile on his face as Matheus Cunha put the visitors ahead against Leicester, but there was little for Sa to feel happy about come the full-time whistle.
With eight minutes to play in the first half, Sa caught Jamie Vardy inside the area, and Kelechi Iheanacho coolly tucked home the resulting penalty before right-back Timothy Castagneproduced a striker’s finish in the second half to turn the tie on its head for Leicester.
Thanks to West Ham United’s demolition of Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon, Wolves will enter the midweek round of fixtures having slipped below the Hammers into 14th place in the table, behind David Moyes’s men on goal difference and six points clear of the bottom three with six games remaining.
Nevertheless, a blunt Loeptegui warned his Wolves players to avoid “dangerous” thoughts about being close to securing Premier League safety after Saturday’s failure, which ended the hosts’ three-game unbeaten run in April, albeit while extending their scoring streak to seven matches – a marked improvement from their shot-shy days of the first half of the season.
Molineux has also been a happy hunting ground for Wolves in recent months, as Lopetegui’s side boast five wins from seven Premier League home games in 2023 – including each of their last two – and every triumph in that quintet has seen Wolves keep a clean sheet.
Crystal Palace’s explosive attacking performances under Hodgson were always going to peter out at one stage, but it was not for the want of trying against the 10 men of Everton, who left Selhurst Park on Saturday with a creditable point to their name.
Despite boasting a numerical advantage for the final 10 minutes after Mason Holgate was made to walk for two bookable offences, Palace’s efforts to outdo Jordan qPickford were fruitless, while Sam Johnstone also had to come up with some crucial contributions at the other end of the field.
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The Eagles’ 100% winning record during Hodgson’s homecoming may now be over, but they are still safely entrenched in 12th place in the table – nine points clear of the bottom three with six games left to go – so another season of top-flight football should be secured with minimal difficulty.
Following victories on Leeds United and Southampton’s turf, Palace are now out to make it three Premier League wins away from home for the first time since May 2019, and recent history suggests that the visitors’ trip to the West Midlands will be a worthwhile one.
Indeed, the Eagles have come out on top in each of their last four meetings with Wolves, who fell to a 2-1 loss to Palace at Selhurst Park earlier in the season, while Wilfried Zaha and Jean-Philippe Mateta were on target in a 2-0 triumph at Molineux for the Eagles 11 months ago.
