Crystal Palace put in a stylish performance to secure a 2-1 comeback win against Wolves on Tuesday.
Fans at Selhurst Park were treated to a lively affair in the first half which could’ve seen a glut of goals scored. But for all of Palace’s efforts, Wolves had an answer on the counter and managed to pull ahead after half an hour.
Ruben Neves almost doubled their lead on the cusp of half-time and was punished for not doing so mere minutes into the second half, when Patrick Vieira’s side levelled things up. The hosts dominated possession from there, with the front three linking up seamlessly to give Palace the lead for the first time with 20 minutes to play, seeing off a late surge from Wolves to hold on for their third victory this season.
Proceedings were end to end from the first whistle at Selhurst Park. Cheick Doucoure rattled the post with an effort from distance after just three minutes, before Wolves went down the other end and were whiskers away from pulling ahead through Diego Costa mere moments later.
After a quiet period with possession regularly changing hands, Wolves put together a fine move from back to front after half an hour, with Ruben Neves’ fabulous switch of play unleashing Hugo Bueno to whip in an inch perfect cross on his full debut, which was headed in by Adama Traore for 1-0.
Head injuries to Matheus Nunes and later Daniel Podence stifled an otherwise impressive performance from the visitors, but they recovered well and were a Neves free-kick against the post away from taking a 2-0 lead into half-time.
They were made to rue that missed opportunity when Eberechi Eze capitalised on a sleeping defence almost immediately after the break, sneaking in at the back post to head in a cross from Michael Olise; his second goal of the season.
Palace perked up after drawing level, continuing the work they put in after falling behind in the first half and dominating possession against Steve Davis’ well-drilled Wolves outfit.
Wilfried Zaha did tremendously to get his side up the field after 68 minutes, skilfully weaving through Wolves’ plentiful challenges to set up a slick team move. He then received the ball again in the left half-space, switching play to Michael Olise, whose cross was met by a bicycle kick from Odsonne Edouard that whiskered marginally wide.
The Eagles didn’t panic, though, and launched another fine passage of play from the back just minutes later. Edouard this time picked up the ball in the left channel, before patiently squaring to Zaha who rifled it past Jose Sa to give his side a deserved lead.
Wolves pushed Palace towards a nervy climax, with Neves forcing a fine save out of Vicente Guiata in the 87th minute from the edge of the box, and Nathan Collins somehow firing an – eventually – offside square ball wide from point-blank range.
Vieira’s side were able to hold that nerve, though, returning to winning ways and condemning Wolves to a fourth defeat in five games in the process.
