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Wolves 1-1 Norwich: Canaries hold Wolves to drab draw

By Harry De CosemoBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Premier Leaguecomments199

Rayan Ait-Nouri
Wolves had lost six of their last nine home games

Wolves' hopes of European qualification were extinguished as already-relegated Norwich City held them to a frustrating draw at Molineux.

Rayan Ait-Nouri rescued a point after an improved second-half performance by the home side, but it is now just one win from their last seven games.

Because of West Ham's point against Manchester City in London, Wolves can no longer reach the Europa Conference League for next season.

Teemu Pukki gave the Canaries an early lead, but they weren't able to hold on for a final away victory of the season.

Wolves 1-1 Norwich City: Too easy to score against us - Bruno Lage

There was an end-of-season feel to the game from the start, with both sides lacking form and purpose.

Pukki fired wide after being released by a perfectly-weighted pass from Kieran Dowell, before John Ruddy denied him with a fine save moments later. Toti's well-timed challenge stopped Dowell as he closed in on a tap-in from the rebound.

Wolves dominated possession but were frustrated by Norwich's robust defence for much of the first half.

Their only chance of real note came after half an hour, when Raul Jimenez's cross was headed over by Hwang Hee-chan.

Eight minutes before the break, it was third time lucky for Pukki. He cut in from the right and created a sight of goal before wrong-footing Ruddy for his eleventh goal of the season.

Booed off at half-time, Wolves came out fighting and levelled 10 minutes after the restart. Joao Moutinho's free-kick caused chaos in the area, eventually finding its way for Ait-Nouri to head home.

The mood changed instantly. Chiquinho, a half-time change for the hosts, was causing all sorts of problems and Norwich suddenly looked vulnerable at the back. Pedro Neto nearly put Wolves ahead, only to be thwarted by Angus Gunn.

Bruno Lage's side hunted the winner but were unable to make their dominance count, and he was left frustrated by his side once again conceding first in a match.

"We are frustrated with the result. It has been easy to score goals against us in the last months," Lage told BBC Sport.

"We tried to do our best. We changed the dynamic a bit, scored one and should score more. It is a draw, it is not good for us and me. I wanted a good performance and result for the fans who supported us this season.

"Sometimes the games are balanced and we are suffering first and conceding first, even when the opponent is doing nothing.

"Today, we are controlling the game, we tried to find our spaces to play. We are missing some players; it is easy to find spaces against our defence and it is hard for me to be in this moment."

Wolves rally but can't find breakthrough

It was a much improved second-half display from Wolves as they looked to end their season on home soil with a flourish.

The introduction of Chiquinho made a real difference and they began to find more space in key areas than before, with Norwich looking much less resolute.

But ultimately, Lage's side perhaps won't be sad to see the back of Molineux for the time being as they failed to turn around a drab home record, having won just three of their previous nine in Wolverhampton.

Canaries hold on but rue early misses

Wolves 1-1 Norwich City: Draw at Wolves 'stops the bleeding', says Dean Smtih

There was a reaction from Norwich here, after a difficult few weeks which confirmed their return to the Championship. The heart was evident again, but perhaps the quality wasn't.

It could have been very different had Pukki made good on those opportunities in the first half, and Dean Smith will no doubt be disappointed with the manner of the goal they conceded.

Smith admitted his frustration with Pukki's finishing but was pleased with the way his side defended overall.

"We had three wonderful chances," he said. "Teemu has been put through a number of times. I thought defensively we restricted them to not many chances at all.

"It was a really good, workmanlike performance but I'm disappointed we haven't got all three because we could have been more than a goal up at half-time.

"[The equaliser] was preventable because it wasn't a free-kick. Unfortunately we have decisions like that go against us week in, week out. We are disappointed by that.

"We wanted to stop the bleeding today; we've been conceding too many goals and too many big chances. I thought we did that today. Second half, we were careless on the ball and didn't keep it as well as we did first half. We thoroughly merited the point."

Player of the match

PukkiTeemu Pukki

with an average of 7.65

Wolverhampton Wanderers

  1. Squad number20Player nameChiquinho
    Average rating

    6.32

  2. Squad number3Player nameAït-Nouri
    Average rating

    5.68

  3. Squad number7Player namePedro Neto
    Average rating

    5.63

  4. Squad number17Player nameFábio Silva
    Average rating

    5.52

  5. Squad number24Player nameToti
    Average rating

    5.46

  6. Squad number21Player nameRuddy
    Average rating

    5.42

  7. Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
    Average rating

    5.41

  8. Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
    Average rating

    5.27

  9. Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
    Average rating

    5.21

  10. Squad number16Player nameCoady
    Average rating

    5.19

  11. Squad number15Player nameBoly
    Average rating

    5.06

  12. Squad number19Player nameJonny
    Average rating

    5.02

  13. Squad number9Player nameJiménez
    Average rating

    4.97

  14. Squad number26Player nameHwang Hee-Chan
    Average rating

    4.65

Norwich City

  1. Squad number22Player namePukki
    Average rating

    7.65

  2. Squad number5Player nameHanley
    Average rating

    7.35

  3. Squad number3Player nameByram
    Average rating

    6.98

  4. Squad number46Player nameRowe
    Average rating

    6.93

  5. Squad number2Player nameAarons
    Average rating

    6.86

  6. Squad number30Player nameGiannoulis
    Average rating

    6.85

  7. Squad number8Player nameGilmour
    Average rating

    6.84

  8. Squad number10Player nameDowell
    Average rating

    6.80

  9. Squad number16Player nameNormann
    Average rating

    6.79

  10. Squad number20Player nameLees-Melou
    Average rating

    6.79

  11. Squad number7Player nameRupp
    Average rating

    6.78

  12. Squad number28Player nameGunn
    Average rating

    6.78

  13. Squad number19Player nameSørensen
    Average rating

    6.63

  14. Squad number4Player nameGibson
    Average rating

    3.91

Line-ups

Wolves

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 21Ruddy
  • 15Boly
  • 16CoadySubstituted forTomás Oliveiraat 45'minutes
  • 24Gomes
  • 19Castro Otto
  • 8Neves
  • 28João Moutinho
  • 3Aït-Nouri
  • 9Jiménez
  • 7NetoSubstituted forPodenceat 75'minutes
  • 26Hwang Hee-ChanSubstituted forFábio Silvaat 74'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Malheiro de Sá
  • 2Hoever
  • 5Marçal
  • 10Podence
  • 11Machado Trincão
  • 17Fábio Silva
  • 20Tomás Oliveira
  • 32Dendoncker

Norwich

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 28Gunn
  • 3Byram
  • 5Hanley
  • 4Gibson
  • 2AaronsBooked at 79mins
  • 8GilmourSubstituted forRuppat 62'minutes
  • 16NormannBooked at 19minsSubstituted forSørensenat 70'minutes
  • 30GiannoulisBooked at 47mins
  • 10DowellSubstituted forRoweat 83'minutes
  • 20Lees-Melou
  • 22Pukki

Substitutes

  • 1Krul
  • 7Rupp
  • 17Rashica
  • 18Tzolis
  • 19Sørensen
  • 21Williams
  • 40Tomkinson
  • 45Springett
  • 46Rowe
Referee:
Tony Harrington
Attendance:
31,219

Match Stats

Home TeamWolvesAway TeamNorwich
Possession
Home64%
Away36%
Shots
Home17
Away11
Shots on Target
Home4
Away2
Corners
Home5
Away3
Fouls
Home5
Away10

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Norwich City 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Norwich City 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Grant Hanley (Norwich City) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jonathan Rowe with a cross following a corner.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Toti.

  5. Post update

    Attempt missed. Pierre Lees-Melou (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Grant Hanley.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Chiquinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.

  8. Post update

    Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Ben Gibson.

  9. Substitution

    Substitution, Norwich City. Jonathan Rowe replaces Kieran Dowell.

  10. Post update

    Attempt missed. Fábio Silva (Wolverhampton Wanderers) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Daniel Podence with a cross.

  11. Booking

    Max Aarons (Norwich City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  12. Post update

    Rayan Aït-Nouri (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Max Aarons (Norwich City).

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Daniel Podence replaces Pedro Neto.

  15. Substitution

    Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Fábio Silva replaces Hwang Hee-Chan.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Rayan Aït-Nouri (Wolverhampton Wanderers).

  17. Post update

    Lukas Rupp (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  18. Post update

    Toti (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Teemu Pukki (Norwich City).

  20. Post update

    Foul by Chiquinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers).

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Comments

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199 comments

  • Comment posted by Nick, at 16:15 15 May

    No, BBC, the Women's FA Cup is not higher priority than the closing stages of the PL. Your live page for the latter has 4 times as many views as the former!

    • Reply posted by hicko, at 17:17 15 May

      hicko replied:
      I don’t think the bbc understands that even tho something is rammed down your throat you won’t keep watching it all the while. Womens football is years away from being a viable option to watch when there is freshly applied paint to look at on the living room walls.

  • Comment posted by Utcheterwolf, at 16:12 15 May

    Wolves have paid the price for having a small squad and having bad injuries to Raul and Neto. Neither have been the same since. Come on Fosun , we need players

    • Reply posted by Black Country Man, at 16:47 15 May

      Black Country Man replied:
      Things have gone downhill since Max Kilman got injured. This isn't a criticism of his replacements, more to point out what a fantastic understanding he has with Coady.

  • Comment posted by del 1958, at 16:41 15 May

    Supported wolves for over 50 years never seen a club try so hard NOT to qualify for Europe,if the board were worried about costs Easyjet do cheap mid week flights to Europe

    • Reply posted by Neutral fan, at 17:01 15 May

      Neutral fan replied:
      Not good enough for Europe..

  • Comment posted by Apollo 11, at 16:05 15 May

    It seems that everyone except the hierarchy can see how much wolves need a goal scorer.

    • Reply posted by MattySW, at 16:11 15 May

      MattySW replied:
      100%

      Jimemez is not the player he was, Hwang isn't going to score loads and Silva, as much as he's improved, well I just don't see it working out for him. I'd love Origi to come in the summer.

  • Comment posted by finnharpsman, at 17:13 15 May

    Two points for Wolves in the last 6 games after such a good run before that is a shockingly bad performance from the manager and his players.

  • Comment posted by The Winslow Boy, at 16:13 15 May

    Anti climactic end to the season for Wolves. Still would have taken top 10 the start of the season…..but worrying signs for next if Fosun don’t get the cheque book out. WTID

    • Reply posted by Neutral fan, at 20:11 15 May

      Neutral fan replied:
      Fosun ain't keen on spending so I've noticed..

  • Comment posted by cordelia, at 16:03 15 May

    Win or lose Wolves ay we

    • Reply posted by Jason Southam, at 16:30 15 May

      Jason Southam replied:
      Now that’s the right attitude 💪🏼
      UTW

  • Comment posted by La mitad mas que Indio, at 16:06 15 May

    Wolves have packed their bags. That's all I can say for THEIR pathetic display.

    • Reply posted by topo, at 16:24 15 May

      topo replied:
      Certainly been disappointing over the final third of the Season. And can’t beat the bottom team who’ve struggled all season, at home (Canaries could play with no fear, but even so...), really not good. Going to need big freshening up before August....

  • Comment posted by ScottyMan64, at 18:18 15 May

    Still not a bad season for Wolves

    • Reply posted by caleo, at 18:25 15 May

      caleo replied:
      It is pretty good… and far better than the season that Villa, Blues, and Sandwell have had 😆

  • Comment posted by Tigger, at 16:15 15 May

    Another pathetic display against a relegated team when is this club going to realise they have got players who are not premier league standard

    • Reply posted by Philip Martin-Summers, at 21:46 15 May

      Philip Martin-Summers replied:
      Poor end to the season yes but you don't get top 10 - as we have-with players who are not prem standard.

  • Comment posted by Si_Wolf, at 16:24 15 May

    Disappointing again. 1 win in 7. If (when) Wolves lose against Liverpool next Sunday and the 3 teams below us all win we'll finish 11th.. Not great after a promising first half to the season where we were in for a shot at 6th.
    Solution has to be a new striker (sorry but current personnel just not got the consistency or quality) consolidate a back 4 (right Bruno?) and refresh the midfield..

    • Reply posted by Christopher brown, at 22:26 15 May

      Christopher brown replied:
      Yeh it so easy to do all that buddy ain't it and how much that gonna cost hehe.As for strikers needed have you not forgotten the horrific head injury ours had.It gonna take time mentally and physically to get back to what he was as a player.However what they earning suppose they should just on with it in your thinking hey buddy

  • Comment posted by Johnathon Maximus, at 16:11 15 May

    If Wolves can’t get it right, it will be relegation for them within the next 3 seasons.

    • Reply posted by DR, at 17:32 15 May

      DR replied:
      Wrong. It will be next season.

  • Comment posted by Sean, at 16:08 15 May

    A right clear out needed at Molineux.....
    If they - Fosun - are serious about winning trophies, then time to give the manager plenty of support in getting in at least 6 new faces.....

    • Reply posted by Neutral fan, at 20:15 15 May

      Neutral fan replied:
      You've got no chance of that happening..
      Last 5windows have been very poor..

  • Comment posted by paul, at 17:08 15 May

    Same old thing from Wolves, sideways backwards, sideways backwards, lose possession, win it back, sideways backwards, sideways backwards, lose possession, then repeat for 90 mins 😡😡

    • Reply posted by dunk, at 18:41 15 May

      dunk replied:
      This won’t end until mouthino goes. He dictates it

  • Comment posted by Landlova, at 16:53 15 May

    Useless Wolves with the worst strike force in the Premiership dramatically fail to go into Europe by winning only once in their last seven games. Just how bad can you get from a club that has problem for seasons. Needs serious attention over the close season, and not from Portugal!

    • Reply posted by finnharpsman, at 17:19 15 May

      finnharpsman replied:
      The only thing to be said in their defence is that management probably expected Raul to return as good as new. Sadly, he is not able for the PL since his injury.
      Fabio Silva was a gamble which has not paid off so far and looks at this stage as if it will not pay off. He has been sitting on the bench for the last 2 years when, at his age, he should have been playing regularly in the Portugal.

  • Comment posted by Davethewave, at 18:16 15 May

    Totally bizarre decision not to start Dendonker given performances of midfield three in last two games. Even more bizarre not to bring him on at half time.

  • Comment posted by ham tylers special ammo, at 16:33 15 May

    Despite the PR work from the club it’s obvious that there is a problem with the Wolves management and the squad. We’ve had 4 or 5 really poor transfer windows and got lucky with results. We need a massive clear out of players that simply aren’t good enough. Neves has played his last game at Molineux in a Wolves shirt. Replacing him will be very hard.

    • Reply posted by Neutral fan, at 20:13 15 May

      Neutral fan replied:
      Fosun lacks ambition..
      That's not difficult to see by their lack of investment..

  • Comment posted by wfc123, at 16:05 15 May

    What a embarrassing Bunch this lot have become.. Players obviously are not interested with half of them leaving at end of season, plus the manager is totally inept, sack him, God help us next season, I've no idea how we have finished in the position we are, more like a team battling relegation..

    • Reply posted by charlie, at 20:34 15 May

      charlie replied:
      That’s enough about Liverpool.