Wolves are still winless in the Premier League this season, but Saturday’s 2-2 draw away to Brighton will feel more like a win after coming back from 2-0 down in the 87th minute.
WATCH BRIGHTON v WOLVES FULL MATCH REPLAY
In truth, it was a worringly poor first half from Gary O’Neil’s side, as Brighton passed their way into dangerous spots with ease (13 shots) and Wolves could barely make their way into the final third (3 shots). Brighton would have liked to turn that dominance into a multi-goal lead, but they were wasteful with their chances until the 45th minut when Georginio Rutter slipped Danny Welbeck in behind and Welbeck beat Jose Sa with an expert finish to the far post.
Brighton seemed to be more in control of the game in the second half, not taking risks to be overly aggressive as they can sometimes be. Wolves had very little in terms of chances for the next 40 minutes, at which point Evan Ferguson scored a confidence-building goal from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 and seemingly put the game to bed in the 85th.
Wolves pulled a goal back in the 88th, though, as Brighton couldn’t clear the ball from their box after a few times of asking. Eventually, it came out to Rayan Ait-Nouri on the left wing and he hammered it low and hard through a sea of bodies, setting up an unexpectedly nervy finish for the home fans.
Brighton’s collapse a work of their own doing
And for the players as well, and perhaps it got to Mats Wieffer just a bit in the 93rd minute, when the ball came to him on the left wing with nothing but green grass (and three teammates, to one defender) in front of him. Wieffer could have either gone to the corner flag to drain the clock, or played a better pass because they one he chose was the only thing he couldn’t do. Credit to Tommy Doyle, who made the interception, skipped past one tackle and hooked a brilliant 40-yard ball out to Matheus Cunha on the right wing. Cunha’s shot took a deflection off Jan Paul van Hecke and wrong-footed Bart Verbruggen as the ball bound into the back of the net for an unlikely, slightly miraculous point.
Player ratings - Brighton vs Wolves
Brighton vs Wolves updates - by Andy Edwards
Brighton vs Wolves final score: 2-2
Goalscorers: Danny Welbeck (45'), Evan Ferguson (85'), Rayan Ait-Nouri (88'), Matheus Cunha (90'+2)
GOAL! Brighton 2-2 Wolves: Matheus Cunha equalizes after Tommy Doyle’s game-saving interception (90'+2)
GOAL! Brighton 2-1 Wolves: Rayan Ait-Nouri fires home through a sea of bodies
GOAL! Brighton 2-0 Wolves: Evan Ferguson finds a bit of space and doubles the lead (85')
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Wolves: Danny Welbeck scores after Seagulls win the ball back high up the field (45')
Brighton starting lineup
Verbruggen - Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan - Baleba, Ayari, Kadioglu, Mitoma - Rutter, Welbeck
Wolves starting lineup
Sa - Bueno, Dawson, T. Gomes - Doyle, J. Gomes, Lemina, Semedo, Ait-Nouri - Larsen, Cunha
How to watch Brighton vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (October 26)
Venue: Amex Stadium — Brighton
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Brighton team news, focus
The Seagulls are dealing with plenty of injuries which makes their start to the season even more impressive. Danny Welbeck, the goalscoring hero last weekend, is recovering well from what looked like a nasty injury and might be good to lead the line this weekend. Brighton have a lovely rhythm about their play and are direct and dangerous with Mitoma the main instigator.
OUT: Joao Pedro (ankle), Matthew O’Riley (ankle), James Milner (thigh), Adam Webster (hamstring), Solly March (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Danny Welbeck (back), Yankuba Minteh (muscular), Simon Adingra (undisclosed)
Wolves team news, focus
There’s not much more O’Neil can do as Wolves’ squad was weakened this summer and they were excellent defensively against Man City last time out. They have to become tougher to beat (they’ve conceded a league-high 23 goals this season) because they have individual quality with Cunha and Strand Larsen causing problems and very capable of finishing on the counter.
OUT: Yerson Mosquera (calf), Boubacar Traore (knee), Enso Medina (knee), Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Hee-chan Hwang (ankle) | QUESTIONABLE: Bastien Meupiyou (undisclosed), Sam Johnstone (adductor)
Brighton vs Wolves prediction
This feels like Wolves will score on the counter in the first half to get their hopes up but Brighton’s incessant pressing and wealth of attacking options will drag them over the line. Brighton 3-1 Wolves.
