Wolverhampton Wanderers’ fastest goal in their Premier League history from Pablo Sarabia set up a long-awaited victory as they beat fellow strugglers Southampton 2-0 on Saturday to move off the bottom of the table.
The hosts celebrated not only the win but also their first clean sheet of the season, but for Southampton the misery continued.
Saints remain winless on the road and have now suffered nine defeats in their opening 11 games. Wolves climbed to 18th with six points while Southampton sit bottom on four.
A big three points at Molineux.
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 9, 2024
🐺⏱️ pic.twitter.com/780o8Oosox
Despite controlling possession for much of the match, Southampton were undone by two decisive Wolves moments.
The first came in the second minute when Matheus Cunha collected the ball in midfield and played a perfectly weighted pass to Sarabia, who rounded England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and calmly slotted home.
"It was a long journey to these three points. We need to keep going, it's so important for us, and I hope this win opens the way to get many more points."
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 9, 2024
🗣️ @mathcunha20 pic.twitter.com/gWJFGuPMlG
Saints pushed for an equaliser, with only a controversial VAR decision ruling out Ryan Manning’s strike, but a lapse in intensity early in the second half allowed Wolves to secure the win as Cunha unleashed a thunderous shot to seal the points.
Wolves manager Gary O'Neil was thrilled. "It wasn’t easy; it was never going to be easy. Southampton are a unique test, and they have a lot of different ways of playing with a unique shape," he said.
"There’s a lot to be proud of - proud of what the lads managed to achieve because it was a tough game.
"At home, against a newly promoted side, both teams near the bottom, and we hadn’t won yet. The atmosphere was edgy, and it would have been easy to play it safe, but they didn’t. They were full of energy.”
SAINTS AGGRIEVED
Southampton may feel aggrieved after playing some good football while some key decisions did not go their way, but the telling statistic is that despite all their 70 per cent-plus possession they failed to register a single shot on target.
"We dominated the ball in their half and their final third, but we didn’t make enough of it," downcast Saints boss Russell Martin said.
"We limited them to eight shots on goal, very few clear openings ... But all the good stuff is undone by being beaten in a few moments ... Yeah, we are in self-inflicted pain today, I think.”
Striker Cameron Archer showed little and Adam Armstrong was nowhere near his best. Towering Paul Onuachu came on late in the game but alsohad no impact against a team who had conceded 27 goals in their first 10 matches - a Premier League record.
With Saints showing no threat, Wolves gradually grew in confidence and stature and always looked more likely to score.
The hosts were happy to lean back and welcome Southampton's toothless attack onto them before repeatedly stinging them on the break and should have made it 3-0 before the final whistle.
Portuguese substitute Rodrigo Gomes played Rayan Ait-Nouri in down the line and the Algerian showed quick feet to skip past his defender and square an inviting cross for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to get the Molineux faithful on their feet.
The Haitian midfielder narrowly missed making a decisive connection with the goal at his mercy but the Old Gold fully deserved their much-needed first win of the season heading into the international break.