Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
MolineuxAttendance31,222.
Report and free match highlights as Marcus Tavernier's second-half goal earned Bournemouth a 1-0 win against Wolves; the midfielder put in Dominic Solanke's cross just after half-time; Wolves dominated possession but created little at Molineux
Saturday 18 February 2023 19:05, UK
Marcus Tavernier's goal lifted Bournemouth out of the drop zone with a 1-0 victory at Wolves, who are now back in the relegation dogfight.
Julen Lopetegui's Wolves had the majority of the possession, territory and chances but their goal-shy attack let them down again as the Cherries' backline stood firm.
Instead, Tavernier tapped in Dominic Solanke's cross just minutes after half-time to end a run of nine matches without a victory.
Before the goal, Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto did well to deny Pablo Sarabia and Adama Traore, while he tipped over Craig Dawson's late header from a corner - as the Cherries kept a first Premier League clean sheet away from home since 2019.
"There were a few scary moments," said Bournemouth manager Gary O'Neil. "There were a lot of bodies in there and it [the ball] can drop anywhere. But I felt we deserved a clean sheet, I don't feel we were under a massive threat.
"I haven't seen the other results, I'm purely focused on our ones. No matter what the other results were today, it won't take anything away from our one."
The first half saw Wolves control matters at Molineux - but a stubborn Bournemouth backline kept out the hosts by limiting them to few chances.
In fact, the best chance of the opening period arguably came from an opportunity that didn't lead to a shot.
Neto came for Joao Moutinho's corner but failed to claim it, with Dango Ouattara hacking the ball off the toes of Matheus Nunes - who was ready to poke home into an empty net.
Sarabia and Traore created some chances for Wolves, with both attacking wingers forcing Neto into routine stops as the half drew to a close.
With Wolves continuing the second half in a similar vein to how they ended it, they were caught out by Bournemouth for a sucker-punch goal.
The Cherries' January signings Ouattara and Hamad Traore combined to release the largely unused Dominic Solanke on the right of the box. The forward's cross came off Tavernier's knee and into the top corner past Sa.
Bournemouth sat deeper and deeper after taking the lead and limited Wolves to scraps. Matheus Cunha missed a header at the near post from Traore's brilliant run and cross, while the impressive Jack Stephens denied the same Wolves forward with a superb double block.
Wolves brought on Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Daniel Podence on to boost their attack but still struggled to create enough chances to break level.
In fact, it was Bournemouth who arguably came closest after the goal, with Hamad's shot from the edge of the area well-blocked by Dawson.
The same Wolves centre-half saw a header tipped over by Neto from a corner, with the Bournemouth shot stopper holding Ruben Neves' late drive in stoppage time.
That was enough for Bournemouth's first clean sheet since November 12 - while boos rang round Molineux from the home fans at full-time.
All you have to do is look at the shooting statistics and you will to see where Wolves' problems still lie.
Fifteen shots, 1.16 xG. Zero goals. On Bournemouth's side, four out of their five shots were ranked at 0.09 xG or lower - but still ran out 1-0 winners.
Wolves created plenty of chances in the game, got the ball into good areas. But they are still feeling the effects of the 'old Wolves' that came before Julen Lopetegui's arrival. The one that saw them sit bottom of the table.
You can also look at the substitutes that Lopetegui brought on this Saturday. Daniel Podence, Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Joao Gomes were all brought off the bench - but all of them looked below par and only one of them has scored since January 14.
It led to Bournemouth manager Gary O'Neil, whose side went into the Molineux clash without a win in nine games, saying that his side weren't up against a "massive threat".
Lopetegui needs to create more threats or, after lifting Wolves away from the relegation fight with three wins in four, they could be right back in the mix for the drop.
Even though Wolves controlled the match, Lopetegui said it mattered little to him as they did not come out on top in terms of the scoreline.
"The only thing that I want is to win the match," said the Wolves boss. "That's why sometimes you have the ball, you shoot a lot more than the opponent and I think we shot 15 times, but we didn't win.
"In this situation - don't lose. Be able to arrive until the end with a clean sheet, which is very important for us and for any team."
Lopetegui said battle to stay above the drop zone, which is now three points below Wolves after this defeat, is going to be "very hard" - and he is not thinking about any higher aims for now.
"I hate to lose, of course, and I am sad, but tomorrow, we have to be balanced because this is going to be a very long race for a lot of teams.
"We are maybe going to have happier moments and maybe not, but the most important thing is to arrive strong in your mind to be able to achieve the aims in the last moments."
"The team is trying to win each match to achieve in the end our very difficult aim, which is to be - at the end of the season - out of the relegation (zone). This is our aim for now and this is our aim for the future, but it's going to be very hard for us and for all of the teams.
"We need a lot of points in front of us, and we have to deserve these points by playing better football."
Meanwhile, Bournemouth boss O'Neil said he was happy with how he regrouped his side at half-time after a disappointing opening period.
"In the first half, I didn't really like us," he said. "We got stuck behind the ball and didn't put the pressure on. There were no real chances [for Wolves], but they put on pressure with corners and we were turned over too easily at times.
"We changed this at half-time and it helped us. We won the ball higher up and it helped us. We should have scored more as well.
"I haven't seen the other results, I'm purely focused on our ones. No matter what the other results were today, it won't take anything away from our one."
Wolves' next game is away to Fulham on Friday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm. Julen Lopetegui's side then play Liverpool for the fourth time in less than two months at Anfield on Wednesday March 1; kick-off 8pm.
Bournemouth are next in action on Saturday when Manchester City visit the Vitality Stadium, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm. Gary O'Neil's side then visit Arsenal on Saturday March 4; kick-off 3pm.
