Joao Gomes scored the winner despite being down to 10 as the Wolves produced one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Gomes’ precise strike came 15 minutes after Charly Alcaraz’s opening goal for the hosts had been canceled out by Jan Bednarek’s own goal. The hosts are now stuck to the bottom of the Premier League standings and four points away from safety. After the game, Jones praised his team for a “great 60 minutes,” which he later referred to as “the best we’ve played at home.” He then promptly headed down the tunnel.
Alcaraz’s exquisite strike that went in off the inside of the post gave Saints the lead in the first two frantic minutes of the first half, while Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina was sent off for a second bookable offense (27). However, the visitors came back gloriously after the break, encouraged by the substitution of Adama Traore at halftime, who helped Julen Lopetegui’s revitalized team save the match by inducing a pivotal error from Bednarek to square the scores (72). Gomes, a fellow substitute, then scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute, surprising Lyanco, who was just watching from the sidelines.
The attitude on the south coast has somehow gotten worse a week after Jones’ odd post-Brentford defeat outburst, in which he claimed he had “compromise principles” since taking over at Southampton. The Saints’ goals were an absurd comedy of errors. For the first goal, Bednarek was unable to free himself from his feet, and for the second, Ainsley Maitland Niles and Kamaldeen Sulemana clashed to give the ball to Gomes. Jones’ decision to give full debuts to newcomers Paul Onuachu and Sulemana, Saints’ brightest spark on the day, demonstrated boldness, but despite playing with an extra man for more than an hour, they lacked the cunning to cross the finish line.
The seeming lack of ambition on the part of the home team was maybe more unsettling. Set-piece expert James Ward-Prowse was given two presentable chances to test Jose Sa with a signature free-kick, once in the first period and once in the second. The captain declined to shoot in both situations and chose to play the ball short instead. Both solutions failed. Even if referee Jarred Gillett contributed by issuing former Saints midfielder Lemina two yellow cards for a late challenge and a subsequent display of disobedience, the hosts still lacked the necessary competitive edge to deceive their Midlands opponents.
Contrarily, Lopetegui’s team has definitely improved greatly under the guidance of the Spaniard and is currently five points clear of the relegation zone after beginning the season at the bottom when the 56-year-old originally assumed control in early November.
“Difficult afternoon. We played our best at home over the first 60 minutes of the game. We had to pursue the second objective. We did. If we score two more, we win the game. We gave in and took the sucker punch. In the second half, we lost the initiative. They achieved the second goal by scoring with the final bit of quality.” Southampton boss Nathan Jones said. “You are constantly vulnerable to counterattacks [against Wolves] because of their quality and speed. We need to handle circumstances much better. We had enough opportunities to score once more. It was more in line with our goals. We had territory, and we were aggressive. We were on the front foot with our tails up. We did lessen our intensity a little bit. We must accomplish that second objective. In reference to leaving the field immediately after the final whistle, he continued, ‘I’ve never done that before – 390 games I’ve not done that. However, I wasn’t sure if standing around applauding would have demonstrated respect, which is why I did it.”
“We play for 70 minutes with one fewer player. It was quite challenging. Thankfully, the players exhibit great spirit and tenacity in their battles. We were aware that we had a chance if we could reach the halfway point without conceding once more,” Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui said. “A terrific victory for us. We were informed by the referee that Mario Lemina had spoken about anything. It seems like an unfair choice to me. They must be impartial since they are judges in the end. I am aware that the work is difficult, but perhaps he can remain more composed in these circumstances.”
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