- Brighton beat Wolves 2-0 at Molineux to boost their Europe qualification hopes
- Danny Welbeck opened the scoring in the first half before Brajan Gruda’s finish
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Are Arsenal even close to achieving big things?
A former Manchester United striker showed a future one how it’s done.
While so much of the talk at Molineux these days surrounds the future of Matheus Cunha and the merits or misgivings of an impending summer move to Old Trafford, it was Danny Welbeck, a man that once tread that starry path, who stole the show.
That it was Cunha who gave the spot kick away, a foul for which he was fortunate not to be shown a red card, was a fitting irony to it all and a reminder that the ageing stars can often play the best tunes under the glow of the fading light.
Welbeck’s penalty was his 10th Premier League goal of the season, the first time in the 34-year-old’s career he’s reached double figures in a league campaign.
He thought he’d given Brighton the lead earlier in the first half too when he turned in Tariq Lamptey’s cross only for a painfully long VAR check to confirm that Yankuba Minteh had interfered with play from a marginally offside position.
It was also Welbeck’s clever run five minutes from time that opened the space for Simon Adingra to play in fellow substitute Brajan Gruda to double Brighton’s lead and wrap up the win.
Danny Welbeck opened the scoring in the first half, sending Sa the wrong way from the spot
The penalty marked the first time in Welbeck’s career he’s reached double figures in the league
Adingra played in fellow substitute Brajan Gruda to double Brighton’s lead and secure the win
For Cunha, this was likely to be the penultimate time he steps out here in a Wolves shirt. Wolves accept that the Brazilian will leave this summer once someone, expected to be Manchester United, match his release clause. What an enigma they will miss. Or will they?
Technique and artistry with one breath, petulance and frustration with the other. We saw the reasons why Manchester United want to buy him and also ones that show why many Wolves fans won’t be too fussed to see him go.
Cunha was at the heart of lots of the hosts’ good play. His early free-kick found Goncalo Guedes at the near post, who put the ball just over the bar with a neat flick of the outside of his boot. He forced a fine low save from Bart Verbruggen with a shot from the edge of the box in the second half. With one roll of his boot over the ball, he sent a Wolves defender the wrong way and fed in a team-mate to win a corner.
And yet for all the good Cunha was doing in attack, it was his doziness that gifted Brighton the lead when he had his pocked picked by Mats Wieffer on the edge of his own box and then clumsily brought down the Seagulls full-back for a penalty.
Brighton’s bench leapt in fury at seeing referee Michael Oliver show Cunha a yellow card instead of something stronger. Officials believed Cunha was making an attempt to play the ball, which was a rather generous interpretation of events.
It got to Cunha. He went down quickly after looking for a free-kick, lucky not to be booked again, and then sent a shot from 40 yards flying halfway up the stands. Misplaced passes were met with flung arms or hands to his head.
For Matheus Cunha, this was likely to be the penultimate time he steps out for Wolves at home
Fabian Hurzeler’s men sit in 9th place, level on points with Brentford with just two games left
Brighton host Liverpool before travelling to Spurs as they look to secure European football
When he sent another speculative effort flying high and wide in the second half, the Wolves fans behind the goal began to sing the name of benched striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
The clock had not even ticked past the hour when the fourth official’s board went up and Cunha’s number flashed alongside Strand Larsen’s.
Within moments of his arrival, Strand Larsen almost had Wolves level as Rayan Ait-Nouri burst down the left, squared the ball and the new man was only denied a tap in by the sprawling arm of the diving Verbruggen.
It was left, though, for Welbeck to have one final say. His clever run made a Wolves defender follow and the space was left for Gruda to slip in and score his first Premier League goal as the substitute fell to his knees in tears.
