Ruben Neves scores in vital Wolves win over Nottingham Forest, while Fulham and Bournemouth share the spoils in 2-2 draw
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Published 15/10/2022 at 16:14 GMT
The 3pm Premier League kickoffs delivered their share of drama as managerless Wolves got a vital early season win over Nottingham Forest that lifts them out of the relegation zone and leaves their opponents bottom of the table. At the same time, the other two promoted sides, Bournemouth and Fulham, were fighting out a spirited 2-2 draw.
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Managerless Wolves earned a vital 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest which somewhat lifts the gloom at Molineux and plunges their opponents further into trouble.
Neither side managed a shot on target in the first half, but not for lack of trying as they combined for 10 off target attempts.
The key moment came after the break when Harry Toffolo was penalised for a handball. The match referee missed it, but VAR intervened to award the spot-kick.
In the 56th minute, Ruben Neves - stepping up to take Wolves’ first penalty in over a year - never looked like missing and gave the home side the lead they deserved on the balance of play.
20 minutes later, Max Killman gave away a penalty of his own, bowling over Ryan Yates in full view of the referee. VAR was once again required, but the penalty was given. Brennan Johnson’s penalty was poor though, and Jose Sa got down quickly to palm it away and preserve Wolves’ lead.
Yates went close to an equaliser late on, but his header just cleared the crossbar.
Something of a spiteful match between two desperate teams who combined for 30 fouls, there was over 10 minutes of stoppage time to be played at the end of the second half, but the home side held on.
The defeat leaves Forest bottom of the league, and lifts Wolves out of the relegation zone. Forest are already four points from safety after just 10 matches.
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In the other 3pm kickoff, Bournemouth and Fulham fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.
Bournemouth took the lead after just 66 seconds, playing out from the back through a static Fulham defence. Dominic Solanke got the decisive touch, but it was an effective team move.
Fulham managed just two shots in the first half. The first won a corner. The second, from that corner, was Issa Diop’s headed equaliser.
Ryan Fredericks was denied a penalty a few minutes later after being pulled back in the box, but Fulham’s fortune ran out soon afterwards. Solanke found the completely unmarked Jefferson Lerma in the box, and the Colombian rolled his shot past Bernd Leno for a 2-1 lead.
Lerma turned villain for Bournemouth though, when full-body tackled Mitrovic in the box in the 50th minute. VAR was required to confirm what surely everyone in the stadium already knew, and the penalty was awarded.
Mitrovic dared Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto to guess which way he would shoot before calmly rolling his shot into the other corner.
In stoppage time, Mitrovic went close to sealing all three points for the Cottagers, but his shot rolled agonisingly wide.
The result leaves both promoted sides comfortably ensconced in mid-table.
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