MX23RW : Thursday, October 31 23:58:40| >> :120:6380:6380:
[monks data]
Everton logo
Premier League | Gameweek 3
Aug 26, 2023 at 3pm UK
Goodison Park
Wolves logo

Everton
0 - 1
Wolves


Branthwaite (53'), Garner (62'), Chermiti (90')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Kalajdzic (87')
Gomes (29'), Semedo (40'), Lemina (51'), Dawson (68')

Sasa Kalajdzic off the mark as Wolverhampton Wanderers sink Everton

Sasa Kalajdzic off the mark as Wolves sink Everton
© Reuters
Sasa Kalajdzic scores his first goal for Wolverhampton Wanderers as Gary O'Neil's men edged past Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park.

Sasa Kalajdzic scored his first goal for Wolverhampton Wanderers as Gary O'Neil's men edged past Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park in the Premier League.

The towering Austrian rose highest to head home the game's only goal in the dying embers, condemning the Toffees to a third-straight defeat without a goal at the start of a Premier League season for the first time ever.

Introducing both Arnaut Danjuma and Lewis Dobbin into the attack, Everton quickly took the game by the scruff of the neck in the opening exchanges and struck the woodwork through the former with 14 minutes gone, although the offside flag would have spared the visitors' blushes anyway.

Exactly 14 minutes later, James Tarkowski managed to get a shot away following a goalmouth scramble from Jarrad Branthwaite's saved strike, but the centre-back miscued his close-range effort as the ball struck the side netting.

Danjuma scuffed another shot in the 36th minute as Everton's lack of ruthlessness continued to bedevil them, and the beleaguered visitors made a defensive change at the break, as Hwang Hee-chan - who had taken a knock in the first half - was withdrawn for Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Sean Dyche's side remained in the ascendancy following the restart, but it was the visitors who had the ball in the back of the net through Fabio Silva in the 57th minute, as the Portuguese striker poked home from Hugo Bueno's cross.

Everton's Lewis Dobbin in action with Wolverhampton Wanderers' Nelson Semedo on August 26, 2023© Reuters

However, Silva had gone a fraction too early and saw his strike chalked off, three minutes before capitalising on a mix-up between Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford, only to send a wonderful chance wide of the Englishman's goal.

The shot-stoppers continued to steal the spotlight, as Pickford had to be alert to keep Branthwaite's header from nestling into his own net in the 63rd minute, before a falling Jose Sa produced a save-of-the-season contender in the 67th minute, magnificently tipping Abdoulaye Doucoure's header over the crossbar.

The midfielder could hardly have come closer to breaking the deadlock - or so he thought - as he collected the ball from James Garner in the 78th minute and directed a low strike into the back of the net, only to be denied by the tightest of offside calls.

In a tale as old as time, Everton's profligacy was their undoing, as in the 87th minute of the match, Kalajdzic - whose Wolves career barely got going before his serious injury - headed home his first goal for the club from Pedro Neto's floated delivery.

Everton's efforts for a late response were futile, and a cacophony of boos rang out as the visitors clinched their first win under O'Neil, who now welcomes Blackpool to Molineux on Tuesday for an EFL Cup second-round tie.

Meanwhile, the pointless and goalless Toffees travel to meet Doncaster Rovers in their cup opener on Wednesday.

ID:522260:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5119:No Data Analysis info
Game History

How you voted: Everton vs Wolves

Everton
45.4%
Draw
28.5%
Wolverhampton Wanderers
26.2%
130
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O'Neil receiving a yellow card on August 14, 2023.
Read Next:
Why Wolves non-penalty decision opened the can of worms that the Premier League needed
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City97202091123
2Liverpool97111751222
3Arsenal95311710718
4Aston Villa95311611518
5Chelsea95221911817
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton94411612416
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest9441117416
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs94141810813
9Brentford94141818013
10Fulham93331212012
11Bournemouth93331111012
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle9333910-112
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham93241316-311
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd9324811-311
15Leicester CityLeicester92341317-49
16Everton92341016-69
17Crystal Palace9135611-56
18Ipswich TownIpswich9045920-114
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves90271225-132
20Southampton9018619-131


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!