November 13, 2024

Wolves 1-0 Leeds United: Premier League – as it happened

Wolves #Wolves

5.27pm EST 17:27

Ben Fisher was at Molineux tonight. His report has landed. You know how it goes: clickity click, enjoy, enjoy. Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe and warm, wherever you are. Nighty night!

Wolves profit from Illan Meslier’s unlucky own goal to edge to Leeds win

5.26pm EST 17:26

Bielsa’s take. “There were only very few moments when we didn’t dominate. The offensive game we created was sufficient to score at least one goal. In a game of small margins, we were the superior side. We had ten chances from different sources. I repeat that I think our offensive game was good. I don’t think we conceded dominance too often. Of course they have two wingers that are very dangerous, and thought we didn’t dominate them completely, but our defensive behaviour was good.”

5.22pm EST 17:22

Nuno, smiling broadly, gives his verdict. “It was an important performance. A good attitude to compete against a very tough team. They have a unique approach to the game, that leads you to making the same high-intensity duels, and the boys did really well. There were many things that Leeds did not allow us to do. For some moments we were stronger, but they had their chances and created real problems. Players like Adama, when they have the ball and start running, they are really dangerous. And it was a beautiful strike. [Wolves’ struggle to defend set pieces] was one part of the plan that didn’t work out, and we have to improve. We’ll keep on chasing and working hard.”

5.15pm EST 17:15

Leeds midfielder Tyler Roberts doesn’t seem too down, smiling wryly on BT Sport as he gives us his calm, considered, philosophical take. “It was a performance when the boys were digging it out and we pushed to the very end, but it just wasn’t to be today. The goal they scored was unfortunate, but we’ll take the positives, rest up, and go again on Tuesday. We’ve been working on the set pieces and the delivery was amazing today, it was just unfortunate that we didn’t get one in. It was good run from Traore, but it was a piece of luck that’s come off the bar and hit out keeper, it’s kind of a freak accident. I feel we bounced back well and pushed to the very end. It was a high-pressure game and both teams worked very hard. It just didn’t fall our way.”

5.05pm EST 17:05

BT Sport talk to matchwinner Adama Traore. “I am very happy for the team. We worked through the 90 minutes. We know how Leeds play, with intensity. We followed the plan Nuno gave to us, to keep working, keep pushing, and to take our chances. We are happy for back-to-back wins. Every team concedes against Leeds, so we did really well with our effort to keep it 1-0. It does not matter [that the goal is an own goal] because the important thing is we win today, that is all that matters.”

4.59pm EST 16:59

Wolves celebrate their hard-earned victory. Adama Traore’s glorious run and shot, which clattered off the junction of post and bar and went in off the back of the staggeringly unlucky Illan Meslier, was worthy of winning any match. So were the series of saves Rui Patricio made from Liam Cooper, who could quite easily have had a hat-trick tonight. Raphinha’s set-pieces were outstanding, while Patrick Bamford had an equaliser ruled out for a very marginal offside call. Leeds will wonder how they didn’t get something out of the match. Wolves leapfrog them into 11th place, a point ahead (33-32) having played a game more (25-24).

4.53pm EST 16:53

FULL TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Leeds United

A moment of sublime skill by Adama Troare, coupled with some outrageously bad luck for Illan Meslier, secures a Premier League double for Wolves over Leeds!

Wolves’ Adama Traore and Leeds’ Illan Meslier shake hands at the end. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/NMC Pool

Updated at 5.07pm EST

4.51pm EST 16:51

90 min +4: Rui Patricio claws a Raphinha header out of the top-right corner! What a game the Wolves keeper has had!

4.51pm EST 16:51

90 min +3: Raphinha finds Helder Costa with a long ball just inside the Wolves box. Costa, 12 yards out, fires the ball straight at Rui Patricio! What a chance to equalise!

Leeds’ Helder Costa goes close. Photograph: Bradley Ormesher/NMC Pool

Updated at 5.03pm EST

4.49pm EST 16:49

90 min +2: Nothing comes of the corner, but that’s not really the point. Wolves manage to keep the ball down by the flag for the best part of a minute. Leeds’ frustration is palpable.

4.48pm EST 16:48

90 min +1: In the first of five added minutes, Neto is booked for taking an absurd amount of time over the corner. He clearly needs to work on his clock-management skills.

4.47pm EST 16:47

90 min: Coady’s good to continue. Rui Patricio launches long. Cooper fresh-airs a clearing header, allowing Silva to advance on the Leeds box down the right. His low drive is deflected out for a corner.

4.46pm EST 16:46

89 min: Roberts shoots from distance. The ball clatters into Coady’s startled coupon. He topples over. Play is stopped.

4.45pm EST 16:45

88 min: Ait-Nouri drops a shoulder to glide in from the left, and is cynically brought down by Ayling’s hanging leg. Free kick in a dangerous position, just to the side of the box. Moutinho dummies to take, but flicks it to Neto, who wanders towards the corner. The gods of football retaliate by making him clumsily run it out for a goal kick. What a farce.

4.43pm EST 16:43

86 min: Raphinha swings it in, but the whistle goes, someone in white having knocked Saiss to the floor.

4.42pm EST 16:42

85 min: Struijk makes a hash of a simple clearance, allowing Moutinho to have a strike from 20 yards. His curler towards the top left is only just over the bar. Leeds go up the other end and force a corner, Roberts bothering Dendoncker down the left.

4.41pm EST 16:41

84 min: For the first time in the evening, Leeds look as though they’re running out of ideas. They’re certainly struggling to retain possession, which isn’t like them.

4.39pm EST 16:39

82 min: Wolves have to sub their sub. Marcal has tweaked something, and he can’t continue. He’s replaced by Ait-Nouri.

4.38pm EST 16:38

81 min: Leeds make a double change, replacing Klich and Harrison with Helder Costa and Alioski.

4.37pm EST 16:37

80 min: Wolves take their time over a series of throws deep in Leeds territory. The clock is very much their friend now.

4.36pm EST 16:36

78 min: VAR has a check, though, and there really wasn’t much in that. Coady very nearly played him on. But the on-field decision is rubber-stamped. No goal.

Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford’s (second left) looks disappointed after his goal is disallowed. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 4.46pm EST

4.35pm EST 16:35

77 min: Leeds snaffle possession and tear upfield on the counter. Roberts slides a pass down the inside-left channel to release Bamford, who strides into the box and lashes an unstoppable shot into the top left. But the flag goes up for offside.

Patrick Bamford of Leeds United gets the better of Romain Saiss of Wolverhampton Wanderers and bashes the ball into the net. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Updated at 4.43pm EST

4.33pm EST 16:33

75 min: Raphinha’s delivery is uncharacteristically poor. Wolves clear. Leeds come again, through Bamford down the left. He whips viciously through the Wolves box, but Rui Patricio calmly ushers the ball out for a goal kick.

4.31pm EST 16:31

74 min: Roberts tries to burst down the middle and is checked by Semedo. Another set piece, another chance for Raphinha to cause a little bother.

4.30pm EST 16:30

73 min: Dallas dances down the left touchline and feeds Harrison, who loops long. Too long. Decent field position is wasted.

4.29pm EST 16:29

72 min: Hernandez and Dallas combine crisply down the inside-left channel, but they can’t quite open Wolves up and the ball dribbles through to Rui Patricio. This is a great game.

4.28pm EST 16:28

71 min: Moutinho’s delivery is decent, but he’s no Raphinha, and Leeds clear easily enough.

4.27pm EST 16:27

70 min: Wolves win a couple of corners down the right. The second leads to a free kick out on the right, conceded by the hand of Hernandez.

4.26pm EST 16:26

68 min: In a parallel universe somewhere, Cooper has a hat-trick tonight, Raphinha three assists. How has at least one of those chances not gone in?!

4.24pm EST 16:24

67 min: Another free kick for Leeds out on the right. Raphinha, whose dead-ball delivery is nothing short of outstanding, swings it towards the far post. Cooper continues his duel with Rui Patricio, extending a telescopic leg and prodding towards the bottom left, only for the keeper to parry out for a corner.

Leeds United captain Liam Cooper is denied by Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Rui Patrício. Photograph: Malcolm Bryce/ProSports/Shutterstock

Updated at 5.01pm EST

4.23pm EST 16:23

66 min: What a shot by Traore. Such a shame the goal can’t be credited to him. It’s all his work, though. Leeds respond by replacing Shackleton with Hernandez.

4.22pm EST 16:22

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Leeds United (Meslier og 64)

This is both sensational and so unlucky. Traore dribbles at pace down the left and drifts inside. He sends a rising heatseeker towards the top right. The ball crashes down off the junction of bar and post, into the back of the prone Meslier, who had just completed a futile dive, and into the net. It’ll go down as an own goal, but that’s harsh on Meslier, who could do nothing to stop Traore’s moment of genius.

Wolverhampton’s Adama Traore fires a shot goalwards … Photograph: Nick Potts/Pool/EPA All eyes are on the ball after it cannoned off the back of Leeds keeper Illan Messlier. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/NMC Pool Meslier looks rueful. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/NMC Pool Whilst Adama Traore is congratulated by his Wolves teammates. Photograph: Bradley Ormesher/NMC Pool

Updated at 4.53pm EST

4.20pm EST 16:20

63 min: Raphinha’s inswinger is met by Cooper, who fires a header straight at Rui Patricio from six yards! Bamford tries to nod the rebound in, but Wolves scramble clear. So close to the opener. And then …

4.19pm EST 16:19

62 min: It’s getting a wee bit scrappy, this. Saiss goes jumping into the back of Klich, out on the right wing. Another chance for Leeds to line up on the edge of the Wolves box, waiting for Raphinha’s free kick.

4.18pm EST 16:18

61 min: Traore barges into the back of Ayling, 35 yards out on the right. Free kick. Raphinha floats it towards Cooper, who loops a harmless header into the arms of Rui Patricio from the edge of the box.

Leeds’ Liam Cooper (centre) heads at goal. Photograph: Bradley Ormesher/NMC Pool

Updated at 5.05pm EST

4.17pm EST 16:17

60 min: The first change of the evening, as Marcal comes on for Jonny.

4.16pm EST 16:16

59 min: So having said that, the match descends into its first proper lull. A notable drop in pace and direction.

4.14pm EST 16:14

57 min: Both teams are still going for this at a million miles an hour. It’s a fun match, and I have no idea how there hasn’t been at least three or four goals already.

4.12pm EST 16:12

55 min: One corner leads to another, leading to an inconsequential shot by Roberts. Goal kick.

4.12pm EST 16:12

54 min: Ayling makes good down the right and whips a low cross towards the near post. Raphinha lurks, waiting to prod home, but Coady bundles it out for a corner, just in time. A goal-saving intervention.

Leeds United’s Raphinha in denied by Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Conor Coady. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Pool/Reuters

Updated at 4.56pm EST

4.11pm EST 16:11

52 min: Roberts ships possession in midfield, playing a backwards ball down the Wolves right towards nobody. Neto latches onto the loose ball and romps towards the box. He’s got Jose free in the middle, but opts to lash towards the top right from a tight angle. Wide and high. In the centre, Jose has his arms outstretched in irritation, the internationally recognised mime for Why Didn’t You Tee It Up For Me Here, You Selfish Get? He is wild.

Pedro Neto shoots at goal. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/NMC Pool

Updated at 5.06pm EST

4.08pm EST 16:08

51 min: Neves has a speculative look from the best part of 30 yards. The shot finds the top-right corner of the stand behind the goal.

4.07pm EST 16:07

50 min: Dendoncker tries to release Jonny down the left with a raking diagonal pass. It flies out for a goal kick. This half hasn’t quite got going yet.

4.05pm EST 16:05

48 min: Traore whistles down the left, batting the ball alongside him with his left arm. Bump, set, spike. He has the brazen cheek to look affronted when the whistle goes for a free kick. Full marks for chutzpah.

4.03pm EST 16:03

47 min: Leeds start the second half like they did the first: with plenty of statement possession.

4.02pm EST 16:02

Leeds get the second half underway. There have been no half-time changes.

3.57pm EST 15:57

Half-time postbag. “Ah, 1973. The UK joins the EEC, Roger Moore becomes James Bond, Last of the Summer Wine, Dad’s Army, Slade, The Sweet, T Rex, Ian Porterfield, Jim Holton. We had it all ahead of us, eh?” Today’s cheery lockdown fun has been brought to you by Simon McMahon. Now I come to think about it, I should have referenced 1972 anyway. Sorry, everyone.

3.50pm EST 15:50

Half-time advertisement. There’s a new definitive history of the club so breezy and enjoyable it’s almost as though the pages turn themselves: The Biography of Leeds United by Rob Bagchi, formerly of this parish. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll never before have seen a youthful Jack Charlton described as looking “like a Postcard Records bass player”. Highly recommended.

3.47pm EST 15:47

HALF TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Leeds United

Not a second of added time. Everyone trudges off, spent after a high-octane first half. No goals, but plenty of entertaining football and the promise of more to come.

3.45pm EST 15:45

45 min: Jonny curls high from the left. Meslier comes to the edge of his box to claim confidently.

3.43pm EST 15:43

43 min: A 101mph lull, if that’s not a contradiction in terms.

3.41pm EST 15:41

41 min: Neto barges his way down the right, and suddenly the Leeds defence parts like the Red Sea. Neto romps towards the box. A combination of a heavy touch, and Meslier reading the danger, allows the keeper to blooter clear.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Pedro Neto surges forward. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Pool/Reuters

Updated at 4.00pm EST

3.40pm EST 15:40

40 min: Dallas teases a low cross through the Wolves box from the left. Raphinha can’t quite reach it at the far post. Goal kick.

3.39pm EST 15:39

38 min: Raphinha dribbles elegantly down the inside-right channel, enters the box, and hits a low cross-cum-shot that’s deflected across the face of goal, barely evading Roberts at the far stick. A corner is the consolation prize.

3.36pm EST 15:36

36 min: All the corners so far this evening, by both sides, have been useless. That trend continues here.

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