Premier League: Wolves edge closer to safety
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - 0 Crystal Palace
Wolves gave their survival hopes a massive lift with what turned out to be a fairly comfortable win over Palace.
In a match that was low on clear-cut chances, Wolves went in front after three minutes when Ruben Neves' corner bounced off the knee of Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen and in off the crossbar.
A slightly nervy affair was settled by Neves' stoppage-time penalty as Wolves, who were bottom of the table when Lopetegui took charge in November, moved nine points clear of the relegation zone. This surely means survival for the home side.
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Albert Sambi Lokonga came closest to providing a Palace equaliser before half-time but his snap-shot from eight yards out was saved by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Palace don't take advantage
Thank you for all your support last night, Palace fans ❤️💙#CPFC pic.twitter.com/Fd4SRtqZ3e
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 26, 2023
Palace were on top for a large part of the second half. However, they struggled to create any real opportunities of note with Eberechi Eze's dipping left-footed effort from distance the closest they came to scoring.
After three wins and a draw in interim boss Roy Hodgson's first four games, Palace suffered defeat for the first time since mid-March.
Like Wolves, they are likely safe. Despite this loss, there was still cause for optimism amongst Palace. Ryan, a Palace fan, added: "Last night was a poor performance, but we've done very well in recent weeks. We are almost certainly safe now."
Graham was in the Palace away end at Wolves. He was disappointed with this performance but pleased generally with how their recent form is going. He said: "I'm just pleased that we are almost certain of survival in the Premier League now. The summer period is crucial for us and we need to get the mangerial appointment correct, or we could face a similar relegation battle next season."
Highlights and Wolves reaction
You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. Wolves put two past Palace | Wolves 2-0 Crystal Palace | Highlights - YouTube
Hardeep Singh commented on the video: "Dawson, Neves and Costa all gave us immense performances. Well done to the team for lifting themselves off the bottom of the league and getting themselves into this position!."
Samuel Jones added: "Get in, Wolves! We have really turned things around since arriving. Fifth place in the form table, I believe? Keep this up and we could be pushing for Europe next season! I hope we can keep Neves though."
Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui spoke with BBC Radio 5 Live after the match: "We are happy. Three days ago we were sad and today we are happy because we got a good victory against a good team. We had to suffer but we got the win. We defended very well against quality players. We didn't have the ball as much as I want, but in the end we showed big commitment, and we were able to score the second goal."
He also spoke with the Wolves website after the match.
🇪🇸🗣
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 26, 2023
