Rob Edwards’ first game ended in defeat as Crystal Palace moved into fourth place in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Molineux.
Second-half goals from Daniel Muñoz and Yeremy Pino gave the Eagles the win in a closely contested game, and their quality proved the difference. Edwards, who left Middlesbrough for the job, tried hard but found little encouragement.
Palace put Wolves under pressure from the start and Ismaila Sarr was denied a penalty when a foul on David Moeller-Wolf appeared to have occurred on the 18-yard line of the box, while Jean-Philippe Mateta had to blame himself for missing a clean through.
Wolves’ best chance before the break came when Dean Henderson could only take a deflected free-kick from Joao Gomez. Palace were more skilful, but Wolves’ battering ram up front was a few to deal with.
Marshall Munetsi’s strike early in the second half left Palace reeling, but Eddy Nketiah came on for Mateta and the game moved, winning a corner and Munoz finding the back of the net after Adam Wharton’s shot was kindly deflected.
It appeared to weaken the bottom club’s belief and Pino, fed by Wharton, curled the ball high from the edge of the box and into the net, soon doubling their lead with a brilliant spark. Wolves continued to have chances, but it was too late for Edwards’ team.
That may be the case this season as they sit at the bottom of the table with just two points from 12 games. Palace’s prospects have improved, with this hard-fought victory lifting them into fourth place in the table and Oliver Glasner once again setting his sights on Europe.
Analysis: Wolves lack quality.
At the end, Edwards went to Molineux’s South Bank’s loudest fans and thanked them for their support, to applause. Wolves played energetically to keep Crystal Palace at bay, but lost 2-0, highlighting their lack of quality.
The club, who are bottom of the Premier League, are currently without a win in 12 games and are eight points adrift of next-up side Burnley, let alone finish in 17th place, which they need to survive. Looking at the expected goals data, you can see that they had the better chances against Palace but were seriously lacking in confidence.
Wolves partnered Tolu Alokodare and Jorgen Strand Larsen in attack, with Munetsi providing energetic support. But Edwards doesn’t have a player who looks like he can produce the kind of finishing that Pinot gave him to score points.
On a day when Pedro Neto, Morgan Gibbs-White and Raul Jimenez were among the top scorers in the Premier League, few Molineux players needed reminders that there was a time when Wolves had such class. The same cannot be said for the costumes that Edwards inherited.
Edwards laments big moment
Wolves manager Rob Edwards said in a press conference.
“The result is probably going to cloud some people’s emotions or make them look a certain way. I need to take the emotions out of there and look at it a little more clearly.
“I thought they were better in the first half. Overall, I thought we defended pretty well in the box, but we probably didn’t get one big moment. In the second half, actually, we were strong, but then we got punished in those moments.”
“That’s probably why we’re here and why I’m sitting here right now talking to you guys. It’s probably a familiar kind of story for the game because there’s been quite a lot this season. There was no load on it, and there was no load on the game.”
“I think we created three big chances. Again, possession was close in some ways and things like that. But in the end it was a big moment for them to put the ball in the back of the goal.”
Coach Glasner praises Wharton’s passing
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said in a press conference:
“Yeremy Pinot’s second goal was great, a great finish, but as a manager I liked the way it happened better. They cleared the cross and Daichi Kamara counter-pressed very aggressively and the ball fell into Adam’s left foot.
“The easier pass would be to go back to Marc Gehi. We always encourage our players to play forward and then make a one-touch pass to Jeremy who goes back into the dangerous area. It was great, and of course the finishing was also great. I think that was more or less the deciding factor.”
