Wolverhampton Wanderers moved five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone as they claimed a battling 1-0 win over 10-man AFC Bournemouth.
Matheus Cunha was the difference-maker at the Vitality Stadium, where he scored in the 36th minute.
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The Brazilian's goal came just five minutes after Illia Zabarnyi had been sent off after a VAR review for a reckless sliding challenge on Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Marshall Munetsi squandered a great chance to double Wolves’ advantage, but Vitor Pereira’s team were not made to pay for his profligacy.
With Ipswich Town losing 4-1 to Tottenham Hotspur, Wolves’ victory takes them five points clear of the Tractor Boys and Leicester City, who were also thrashed by Brentford on Friday, while Bournemouth remain in fifth.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
26 | -18 | 22 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
26 | -30 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
26 | -34 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
26 | -42 | 9 |
How the match unfolded
Wolves almost struck in the ninth minute as Nelson Semedo surged forward, his low shot striking the woodwork before Kepa Arrizabalaga pulled off a stunning reflex save to keep out Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s follow-up.
Jose Sa made a similarly smart stop soon at the other end after Antoine Semenyo had slipped Justin Kluivert in behind, but the Wolves goalkeeper was quick off his line to smother the shot.
Yet Wolves were handed a boost when Zabarnyi’s yellow card for a slide on Ait-Nouri was upgraded to a red. The visitors swiftly made their numerical advantage count – Cunha smashing beyond Kepa after the ball fell kindly for him in the area.
Wolves took control after half-time, shuffling the ball past Bournemouth with relative ease. Just past the hour mark, Munetsi had a golden chance to double their lead after being fed by Bellegarde, but the chance went begging as he fired wide of a post.
Pereira’s side did not let that miss derail them, though, keeping Bournemouth at arms’ length at the other end as they saw out a potentially vital win in their bid to stay up.
Cunha the hero – again
After nearly spurring Wolves on to fight back for a point in their last league match against Liverpool, Cunha was once again the bright spot for Pereira as the Brazilian continued his brilliant form, netting his 13th goal of the season.
This could, though, prove to be his most important, as Wolves finally put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three.
Cunha has been Wolves' talisman this season, and with goals in each of his last three matches, it was no surprise to see him be the key element again.
A few minutes after Semedo and Bellegarde had tested Kepa early on, Cunha followed suit with a signature curling shot from distance. The ball zipped off the surface with an awkward bounce, forcing Kepa into a diving save.
In the 24th minute, the Brazilian curled a free-kick just wide, the strike failing to dip in time. But he continued to threaten the Cherries’ stretched defence. His finish was calm and composed after Semedo’s hopeful cross took a touch off Munetsi before falling his way.
With an apparently kinder run of fixtures coming up, including a league encounter at Molineux against Fulham in midweek, Wolves have every reason to believe that a spot in the Premier League next season can be theirs.
Cherries still ripe for Europe
Andoni Iraola’s side came into Saturday’s match in a rich run of form, having won 12 of their last 13 Premier League games – a streak that started with a 4-2 win in the reverse fixture.
Their only recent blemish was a home defeat to league leaders Liverpool this month.
Bournemouth were faced another setback against Wolves though, with Zabarnyi’s red card leaving them down to 10 men just 31 minutes in. The defender, who had played every minute of Bournemouth’s league campaign, has been key to Iraola’s defence and his absence was felt deeply.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
25 | +12 | 47 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
25 | +17 | 44 |
| 5 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
26 | +14 | 43 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
26 | +12 | 43 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
27 | -2 | 42 |
| 8 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
25 | +9 | 41 |
They managed to fashion a few decent chances prior to Zabarnyi’s sending-off. Sa denied an ambitious curling effort from Marcus Tavernier just three minutes in, before quickly cutting out an attempted cross from Semenyo.
Bournemouth’s best opportunity came in the 17th minute, when Kluivert was slipped though by Semenyo, only to be denied once again by Sa.
Despite the defeat, Bournemouth remain firmly in the race for UEFA Champions League football and will need to dust themselves off ahead of their match with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Club reports
Bournemouth report | Wolves report
What the managers said
Andoni Iraola: "It is very difficult with 10 men but we did a great effort. we kind of levelled the game 11 versus 10, we pushed them, put them under pressure but we did not have the reward. I am very proud of my players."
Vitor Pereira: "I am very happy because I saw on the pitch the true spirit of a team. It is not easy to play here because they are a good team and they create a lot of problems. In the first minutes we had some problems but after this we started to be compact and control the game and in the end we deserved the result."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Bournemouth have lost back-to-back Premier League home games for the first time since October 2023, a run which also included a defeat to Wolves. Meanwhile, the Cherries have lost consecutive league games without scoring at the Vitality Stadium for the first time since April 2023 under Gary O'Neil.
Munetsi is the first Wolves player to be directly involved in a goal on his first Premier League start for the club since Craig Dawson against Liverpool in February 2023.
Wolves are unbeaten in their five Premier League away games at Bournemouth (W3 D2), their most games against an opponent on the road without defeat in the competition.
Cunha has scored 13 goals in 25 Premier League appearances for Wolves this season, with only Raul Jimenez netting more across a single campaign in the competition for the Wanderers (17 in 2019/20).
