Wolves 0-0 Brighton: Stalemate at Molineux as Nuno Espirito Santo's team miss chance to go fourth

Report and highlights as Brighton pick up a valuable point in their battle against relegation

Adam Bate

Comment and Analysis @ghostgoal

Saturday 7 March 2020 18:09, UK

Brighton held Wolves to a goalless draw at Molineux as the home side missed the chance to move fourth.

It was a game of few openings in which Solly March went closest for the away side, while Leander Dendoncker spurned an opportunity to win it late on.

For Brighton, the draw brings a valuable point in their fight against relegation even while Graham Potter's wait for a victory in 2020 continues.

Wolves just did not create the openings to claim all three points but the draw is still enough to take them above Manchester United ahead of Sunday's derby at Old Trafford.

How the game unfolded

Despite Brighton's lowly league position, they have become a passing team under Potter and the away side dominated possession right from the start of the game.

The passing rarely managed to find its way into the final third of the pitch, however, and the only shot on target all afternoon was a speculative effort by Davy Propper with his weaker foot.

Team news

Wolves returned to the 3-5-2 system that they used in the 3-0 win over Norwich in their previous home game so that meant Adama Traore made way for Leander Dendoncker in the only change from the 3-2 win at Tottenham last weekend.

Brighton boss Graham Potter insisted that his team deserved more in their home defeat to Crystal Palace last time out and his team selection suggested that he believed it too. It was an unchanged team for the visitors with Alexis MacAllister on the bench for the first time.

Wolves, on the other hand, are notoriously slow starters even in a season in which they have once again exceeded expectations, and they began cautiously.

They mustered six shots during the first half but none were on target.

The closest they came before the interval was when Adam Webster misjudged Willy Boly's long ball and allowed Raul Jimenez in behind but he volleyed wide of the near post after taking the shot early.

Nuno had opted to bench Adama Traore in reverting to the 3-5-2 formation that saw off Norwich at Molineux recently but it robbed Wolves of some thrust in the final third.

The stalemate continued until Traore's arrival midway through the second half and he showcased his intent with a couple of dribbles immediately.

However, the first clear opening of the second half fell to March only for him to blaze over from a central position after being found by Leandro Trossard.

Wolves were pushing though and more good work from Traore led to an opportunity for Jimenez but after turning well with his back to goal his shot was straight at Mat Ryan.

Brighton, who introduced Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister for his debut late on, grew in belief but the last chance fell to Wolves.

After good work by Traore, Daniel Podence, Matt Doherty and Jimenez, in a rare flowing move, the ball fell to Dendoncker but his shot was hit well over the bar.

That just about summed it up on a day when neither team did enough to score.

What the managers said…

Nuno Espirito Santo: "It was what we expected. We need to do more to unbalance the opposition especially in wide areas. We know our opponents. We knew it was going to be like that. We should have done better. But Thursday is another challenge and we play with the same process to make the right decisions and find the right solutions for the team so that the players feel confident to improve their performances."

Graham Potter: "We hope it will be valuable. It was a really good performance, I thought. Defensively, really pleased to keep a clean sheet. We restricted them to not too much. One chance at the end. We didn't come and park the bus. We tried to attack, we tried to play. The home team couldn't get the momentum that maybe they would have liked. We'd have liked three [points] of course but we move forward in a positive way."

Man of the Match: Yves Bissouma

Opta stats

Wolves have drawn five games nil-nil in all competitions this season, the most of any Premier League side.
Wolves have now played 47 games in all competitions this season, one more than in the entirety of last season.
Brighton are the only side in England's top four tiers yet to win a league match in 2020 (P9 W0 D6 L3).
Wolves have kept four clean sheets in their last five Premier League games, as many shutouts as they had managed in their previous 25 games in the competition.
Seven of the last nine league meetings between Wolves and Brighton at Molineux have ended as draws, with last season's encounter at Molineux also finishing goalless.
Despite coming on in the 64th minute, Adama Traoré completed more dribbles than any other player in the game (5).

What's next?

Wolves have another busy week ahead as they travel to Greece to take on Olympiakos in Athens on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash. Nuno's team are back in Premier League action at West Ham on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

Brighton resume their battle for Premier League survival back in front of their own fans when they host Arsenal on Saturday.