Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil was unfazed by supporter criticism after his team saw their winless start to the season continue with Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.
Marc Guehi netted a late equaliser as Palace took a point at Molineux, where Wolves had previously been on course for victory after fighting back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1.
O’Neil’s side have now earned just three points from 10 matches, failing to win any of their first 10 games to start a league campaign for just the third time after 1926-27 (10 games) and 1983-84 (14).
O’Neil responded to Trevoh Chalobah putting Palace ahead on the hour mark with a triple substitution, introducing Mario Lemina, Goncalo Guedes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
Though the former duo impressed after coming on, supporters loudly booed O’Neil’s decision to replace midfielder Tommy Doyle, as speculation regarding his future continues to mount.
Asked about supporter discontent after the game, O’Neil said: “I’m fine, it’s my job. The three substitutes made a big difference, I thought we were excellent from then.
“They can voice their opinions, of course, it’s my job. Mario made us an awful lot better, he snuffed out so many balls and turned them into attacking situations for us.
“We need to be better, of course. A lot of it ends up being my responsibility, which I’m happy to take. Criticism around subs, goals can land on my doorstep, that’s what I’m here for.”
O’Neil then added: “I’m disappointed because it was a really brave fightback to spin the game from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, it took a lot of effort.
“Disappointed because having worked so hard to get in front, once we got in front I thought we had a good chance of seeing it out.
“I thought we’d have to defend a couple of moments but not be under any sort of siege, so we’re disappointed we came up short with one.”
Palace have now won more points from their last two matches (four) than they did through their first eight of 2024-25 (three), but boss Oliver Glasner was frustrated that they failed to put Wolves away when 1-0 up.
“It was our third game in six days with a very tight squad. The only thing we can blame ourselves is for not deciding the game when we could’ve done,” he said.
“We had the momentum with the crowd booing, this is what we could and should have done better. All of a sudden Wolves went 2-1 up and then it was back to the players who reacted, they came back again and what makes me proud is we went for the win.”
Crystal Palace 2-2 Manchester City: Lewis equaliser rescues a point for Guardiola's side
Crystal Palace and Manchester City shared the points in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
It was a result that extended the reigning champions’ winless away run to four league matches, while they have now won just one of their last nine matches in all competitions.
Palace caused Pep Guardiola’s side plenty of problems and merited a point that continues their recent upturn in form.
Daniel Munoz gave the hosts the lead inside four minutes, slotting past City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from a Will Hughes pass.
But Erling Haaland ended a three-game Premier League goal drought and equalised for the visitors with a header after 31 minutes.
The two sides also shared a goal apiece in the second half, with Maxence Lacroix and Rico Lewis both hitting the target.
Lewis, meanwhile, was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 84th minute, just when City had finally wrestled control of the game.
But neither side were able to find a winner and following the draw, City remain fourth in the Premier League and eight points behind leaders Liverpool. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, climbed a place to 16th and are four points above the bottom three.
Data Debrief: City's away jitters continue
City went into the game having lost their last five games on the road in all competitions, and their poor away form did not improve after dropping two more points at Selhurst Park.
Guardiola's side have also conceded twice in each of their last four away fixtures. The visitors generated an xG of 1.41 from 12 attempts, which is only slightly better than the xG of 1.3 that Palace had from the same number of attempts.
Though Guardiola's side had four shots on target, one more than the hosts, they failed to find a winner and settled for the point.
Palace, meanwhile, are undefeated in their last four games in the Premier League.
Brentford 4-2 Newcastle United: Bees buzz to fifth successive home win
Brentford registered a fifth successive Premier League home win as the Bees buzzed through Storm Darragh to earn a thrilling 4-2 victory over Newcastle United.
Four first-half goals kept fans at the Gtech Community Stadium on the edge of their seats as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa's efforts were cancelled out by quickfire equalisers from Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes.
The chances flowed at both ends in the second period, but it was Brentford who seized their opportunity to rack up another three points.
Nathan Collins prodded home his first goal since October to put them 3-2 up, then Kevin Schade put the seal on the win, with a dinked finish in stoppage time.
Thomas Frank's team remain unbeaten on home soil this season and now sit sixth in the table, while Newcastle remain in 12th, and without a victory in four league games.
Data Debrief: Homebird Wissa king of the Gtech
Home wins have become a running theme for Brentford this season with 22 points now amassed at the Gtech Community Stadium in 2024-25. No Premier League team can match them for points or wins on their own turf this term.
Frank has consistently looked to harness the power of the home crowd during his time at Brentford, but there is something extra special in the air this season, with Wissa a vital part of it.
The DR Congo international has scored eight of his nine Premier League goals at home this season and his partnership with Mbeumo is flourishing in the post-Ivan Toney era.
Wissa has now scored in seven straight home matches in the Premier League, and only Toney can match his 19 goals at the Gtech overall in the competition.
Aston Villa 1-0 Southampton: Duran seals back-to-back wins for Emery's side
Jhon Duran scored the only goal as Aston Villa edged out the Premier League's bottom side Southampton 1-0.
The Colombian's first-half strike was enough to seal a hard-fought win for Unai Emery's side, who climbed to fifth in the table after back-to-back victories at Villa Park.
Villa, who ended an eight-match winless streak across all competitions with victory over Brentford on Wednesday, broke through in the 24th minute.
Duran – making his first Premier League start of the season – stole possession from Taylor Harwood-Bellis and burst away from Nathan Wood, before bending the ball into the net.
Southampton could not respond, failing to register a single shot on target, as their winless streak on the road in the top flight stretched to 15 matches.
With Brighton and Fulham not playing until Sunday – and Nottingham Forest in action later on Saturday – Villa leapfrogged the trio to fifth place on 25 points – 20 more than their opponents, who remain seven adrift at the foot of the table.
Data Debrief: A rare clean sheet for Villa
Villa's first Premier League home win without conceding since a 2-0 victory over Wolves in March moves them to within two points of the top four.
It was only a second clean sheet in 20 league games for Emery's side, who are unbeaten in their 12 matches against promoted teams under the Spaniard.
Duran settled the contest with his sixth goal from outside the box since the start of last season, a tally only bettered in the Premier League by Manchester City's Phil Foden (eight).
Following their latest setback, Southampton are just the fourth side to have five or fewer points after 15 games in a Premier League season, after Sunderland (five in 2005-06), and Sheffield United twice (five in 2023-24 and two in 2020-21).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
