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Wolves1 - 3Crystal Palace

sportsmole.co.uk, 11 May 2024, 16:00
Crystal Palace leapfrogged Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League table thanks to a Michael Olise-inspired 3-1 victory at Molineux Stadium.

The game was cagey for lengthy periods but spells of action saw the game fly into life with an eventual four goals and a red card.

Olise stood out throughout his time on the pitch as the star player from either side, scoring and assisting one while also playing a huge part in the other as he led his side to a 3-1 victory.

Wolves dominated the ball in the first half, but the visitors certainly had the better of the chances.

Eberechi Eze's strike in the 17th minute was the first real opportunity for either team as Boubacar Traore's loose pass was gathered on the edge of the area by Eze, who found space to shoot but eventually dragged horribly wide.

Olise then had another chance just five minutes later as he was on the end of a Daniel Munoz cross, but his shot was also pulled wide of the goal.

The forward quickly made up for his missed effort though as in the 26th minute, he found himself on the edge of the area, cutting onto his left foot and faking a shot to create space before whipping a beautiful strike into the far corner to open the scoring.

Two minutes later Olise once again showed his brilliance, cutting onto his left foot and scooping a lovely pass into the path of the underlapping Nathaniel Clyne, whose strike hit the post and fell at the feet of Jean-Philippe Mateta to tap in.

The hosts had their only real chance of the half in the 42nd minute after Rayan Ait Nouri was allowed to shit the ball to his right foot and send a looping ball to the back post where Matt Doherty jumped highest, but unfortunately for Wolves his header struck the crossbar.

A half-time substitution for the hosts saw Traore exit for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who almost became provider after four minutes on the pitch as he wriggled free and played it to Matheus Cunha, but the Brazilian's snap shot was saved by Dean Henderson.

Cunha was able to pull one back for Wolves in the 66th minute after Hwang Hee-chan's cross was deflected into his path by Joachim Andersen's sliding challenge, and the Brazilian smashed into the net.

The offside flag initially went up but a swift VAR decision deemed the goal to be onside and gave Wolves hope of getting back into the game.

Wolves almost secured their own quickfire double to equalise in the 69th minute but a fantastic challenge from Clyne played the ball off Hee-chan, who would have had an open goal to aim at, and out for a goal kick.

Olise once again showed his excellence in the 73rd minute with a perfectly weighted through ball to Eze, taking the ball past the keeper and smashing in to restore their two-goal cushion.

Wolves kept pushing for the rest of the game, almost getting a second in the 79th minute as Mario Lemina's effort was acrobatically saved by Henderson.

Joao Gomes came close to scoring a sensational goal when he controlled a loose ball on the edge of the box, juggling it twice in the air before firing his volley just wide.

Wolves thought they had a penalty in the 84th minute as the onrushing Cunha was scythed down by Naouirou Ahamada, who was then sent off for a second yellow card in the space of three minutes.

VAR once again intervened, this time denying Wolves as the foul was rightly determined to have taken place outside of the box.

The final parts of the game were played entirely in Crystal Palace's half, but the hosts never truly threatened again as they fell to a fifth home defeat in their last six.

The result saw Palace leapfrog Wolves into 12th in the Premier League table thanks to a higher goal difference than Gary O'Neil's side.

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