Burnley vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
Turf Moor.
Report and free highlights as Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood took Burnley out of the relegation zone; Wolves staged a late fightback but a Fabio Silva penalty was not enough
Tuesday 22 December 2020 06:10, UK
Burnley lifted themselves out of the relegation zone after a 2-1 win over Wolves, with Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood finding the net.
Barnes had not found the net since last November after a drop in form and spells out with injury but rose highest to head home a perfect Charlie Taylor cross to send Burnley on their way (35).
His strike partner then got in on the act just after the break, as Wood smashed home from close range (51) after Burnley had bullied Wolves from a set-piece.
Fabio Silva did notch a consolation from the penalty spot after Josh Benson fouled the striker (88) but overall the response from the visitors was limp as they missed the influence of Raul Jimenez as Burnley's brilliant defensive axis of Ben Mee and James Tarkowski once again repelled everything that came into their box.
The result lifts Burnley above Fulham and Brighton into 16th place in the Premier League.
The pattern of the match was set from the first whistle, with Wolves enjoying the better possession but Burnley looking far more dangerous with it.
Rui Patricio had to save with his feet when a long clearance from Nick Pope caught Romain Saiss napping to allow Barnes a shot at goal.
With Owen Otasowie, on his full Premier League debut, trying to replace the skills of Jimenez in a central striking role, Wolves never really looked capable of creating anything to worry Pope.
The Burnley breakthrough came soon after the half-hour mark. Taylor burst forward to latch on to Wood's pass, sending in a deep cross to the far post where Barnes muscled his way through to head home and end a 970-minute run without a goal.
Ruben Neves flashed a couple of long-range efforts off target and that was all Nuno Espirito Santo's side could muster before the break.
Having gone in trailing, a response would have been expected from Nuno's team after the break but they were on the back foot almost immediately.
Josh Brownhill capitalised on a slip from Neves to bend a shot on to the crossbar before Wood doubled Burnley's lead in the 51st minute after the visitors failed to deal with Ashley Westwood's free-kick.
Mee headed the ball back into the box where it struck Rayan Ait-Nouri before sitting up for Wood to blast into the roof of the net from point-blank range.
Westwood's pass then freed Wood, but Patricio was quickly out to smother the shot as Burnley threatened to run riot.
With Silva and Adama Traore replacing Otasowie and Ait-Nouri, Wolves carried more of a threat but Taylor was doing a fine job in restricting Traore any room to manoeuvre in.
Their late lifeline came when Silva wriggled away from Tarkowski and then tumbled over a challenge from Benson - just on as a substitute and guilty of conceding a penalty before touching the ball.
Silva hit the spot-kick low and hard to the left to beat Pope and Wolves did pin Burnley back in the closing stages but Pope was not severely tested.
A near faultless performance from the full-back, who was robust defensively when asked to stop Pedro Neto and Traore and produced the moment of quality required to open up Wolves for Barnes' opening goal. The drive and determination he showed to join the attack is everything you expect to see from a Sean Dyche side. Taylor epitomised exactly what Burnley are about.
Burnley take a trip to Elland Road on December 27 to play Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United while Wolves host Tottenham, both games are live on Sky Sports.
