Pablo Sarabia came off the bench to orchestrate a 2-1 comeback win for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Ipswich Town at Portman Road, taking them 12 points clear of their opponents and the relegation zone.
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Ipswich looked set to close the gap on 17th-placed Wolves to just six points when Liam Delap gave them the lead in the first half.
But after Wolves spurned many chances, Sarabia’s 65th-minute introduction turned the game around, as he nestled the equaliser into the bottom corner less than 10 minutes later.
He then set up Jorgen Strand Larsen’s winner, putting it on a plate for the forward to seal a potentially decisive three points in the relegation battle.
The result also means Southampton will be relegated if they lose at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
31 | -16 | 32 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
31 | -34 | 20 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
30 | -42 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
30 | -49 | 10 |
How the match unfolded
Wolves started brightly, with Alex Palmer forced into early action. He kept out Strand Larsen’s low drive with his leg before tipping Toti Gomes's header over the bar.
Just five minutes later, Delap put Ipswich in front. He reacted quickest to Dara O’Shea’s nod-down to slot through Jose Sa’s legs from close range.
Toti had an effort cleared off the line at the other end, but Wolves' best first-half chance fell to Emmanuel Agbadou. Palmer almost allowed a back-pass to roll past him and had to claw the ball off the goalline.
That action of handling a pass from his own player meant Wolves were awarded an indirect free-kick six yards out, but Sam Morsy threw himself in the way of Agbadou’s shot.
Wolves upped the pressure after the break, with Joao Gomes rattling the near post, but they would not find a way through until the 72nd minute as Sarabia latched onto the rebound of his own blocked shot to pick out the bottom-right corner.
He then volleyed a cross into the six-yard box for Strand Larsen to bundle home in the 84th minute.
Ipswich can't keep Wolves from the door
Ipswich now appear destined for the drop, with their poor home form a major factor.
Their win at AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday was their first in 2025, but their home results in recent weeks will not have bred any confidence, and they have now lost their last six in a row at Portman Road.
They started well enough here, with Delap coolly taking their clearest opportunity, while some heroic defending showed they knew exactly what was at stake.
Moments after assisting Delap, O’Shea was perfectly placed to deny Toti in front of an open goal, while Morsy bravely threw himself in front of Agbadou's drive from Wolves' indirect free-kick.
Wolves' indirect free-kick
That trend looked set to continue in the second half, with Axel Tuanzebe stepping across Nelson Semedo’s strike for another vital block as blue shirts continuously stood in the way of goal.
But they could not hold out under the never-ending Wolves pressure, as Jens Cajuste failed to block Sarabia’s volley, having stuck out a foot to stop his first attempt.
Nobody spotted Sarabia peeling around the back for Wolves’ second goal, and Ipswich's confidence appeared shattered in the dying minutes. They go to Chelsea next, requiring the greatest of all escape acts if they are to stay in the Premier League.
The last time Wolves faced Ipswich, Wolves were entrenched in the relegation zone and a last-gasp defeat spelled the end of Gary O’Neil’s time at the club.
But Vitor Pereira has reinvigorated them, and though he had to watch from the stands on Saturday due to a touchline ban, his players showed their fight to avoid being dragged back into the relegation battle.
Wolves have done well against promoted sides in recent years, though their only loss in their last eight such matches did come against Ipswich in December, and they looked set to come unstuck once more.
Had they lost, they would have been left to rue a flurry of missed chances. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde saw an early effort float over the bar, but after that, the visitors were met by a sea of blue shirts, who were willing to throw themselves on the line to defend their lead.
Wolves continued to apply wave after wave of pressure, but just when it looked like they were missing the suspended Matheus Cunha’s finishing touch, Sarabia and Strand Larsen, who had also flicked a header just over before his goal, stepped up.
Pereira’s side now look set to spend another year in the top flight, though they are not mathematically secure just yet, with Spurs visiting Molineux next week.
Club reports
Ipswich report | Wolves report
What the managers said
Kieran McKenna: "Gutted, very sad dressing room. The players put everything in and we weren't able to find enough in the second half to get the result we wanted."
Vitor Pereira: "Very happy for the club, supporters and for the team because we deserved it. Today they scored first but we had some chances. Second half we increased our level and we started to feel we came here to win, it's not time to wait its time to play, press them and win the game. Very happy with that."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Wolves have won three consecutive matches in the Premier League for the first time since December 2023, while they’ve won three successive away games in the competition for the first time since a run of four under Bruno Lage in February 2022.
Wolves’ Sarabia both scored and assisted in a Premier League match for just the second time, after also doing so against Spurs in November 2023.
Ipswich’s Delap scored his 12th Premier League goal of the season, with only Marcus Stewart netting more for the Tractor Boys across a single campaign in the competition (19 in 2000/01).
Strand Larsen has scored four goals across his last three Premier League games for Wolves, as many strikes as in his previous 18 appearances in the Premier League.
