Fulham 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hosts held by Premier League strugglers
Substitute Manor Solomon scored for the third consecutive game as European hopefuls Fulham fought back to claim a hard-fought Premier League draw at home to struggling Wolves.
Solomon’s superb curling effort into the right corner rescued a point for the hosts, who generally underwhelmed as they missed the opportunity to move level on points with fifth-placed Newcastle.
Until the Israel international’s intervention, Wolves had looked on course to claim a valuable three points courtesy of Pablo Sarabia’s sweeping first-half effort.
The Spain winger, who had earlier seen a weak attempt saved by home goalkeeper Bernd Leno, expertly turned in Raul Jimenez’s knock down after twice linking with the Mexico international in the build up.
Had Jimenez been able to turn home a second-half header he narrowly glanced wide the game might have proved beyond Marco Silva’s side, who barely threatened until the closing stages.
The result leaves the Cottagers sixth in the table on 39 points, while Wolves remain 15th, four points above the relegation zone.
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- Reaction as Fulham are held by Wolves
A night of missed opportunities
Both sides are likely to come away from this contest with a tinge of regret, with a point hardly an ideal outcome for sides with disparate ambitions this term.
Fulham will look back ruefully on a chance lost to apply further pressure on Newcastle and Tottenham as they look to secure European football for the first time since 2011-12.
However, they did little to merit more, delivering a flat performance that provided little for the home supporters to get excited about until the final 15 minutes when, having levelled, they pressed forward in search of a winner and Carlos Vinicius forced visiting goalkeeper Jose Sa into a superb save.
“Many things were different in the second half, the dynamic of the team and the way we pressed the ball. We didn’t do that well enough from the start,” Fulham boss Silva told BBC Sport.
“It was a reaction that I wanted but that’s how we should have started. He [Manor Solomon] needs to keep doing what he’s doing. He doesn’t have 90 minutes in his legs yet. He has been really important but let’s hope he continues doing it.”
Solomon’s goal-scoring cameo was another step forward for the on-loan Shakhtar Donetsk winger, who only returned in January from a serious knee injury sustained in the first game of the season.
Until he struck Wolves’ only concern appeared to be a second-half injury to forward Matheus Cunha, who was taken off on a stretcher after lengthy treatment following a seemingly innocuous challenge.
With Sa making routine stops from a tame Vinicius header, an Andreas Pereira free-kick and a Joao Palhinha effort, Wolves appeared on course to claim a welcome fifth win in nine top-flight matches under former Spain boss Julen Lopetegui.
Aside from good chances for Sarabia and Jimenez, Ruben Neves also headed wide from Matheus Nunes’ cross with Wolves in control.
But they were eventually made to pay, with the visitors now having dropped 15 points from winning positions this term.
“The match changed after the injury to Cunha. We have the need to get a lot of points to stay out of relegation. It’s going to be a hard and tough task but we have one more today,” Lopetegui told Sky Sports.
Player of the match
BuenoHugo Bueno
with an average of 8.03
Squad number11Player nameSolomon
Squad number17Player nameLeno
Squad number13Player nameReam
Squad number18Player nameAndreas Pereira
Squad number31Player nameDiop
Squad number20Player nameWillian
Squad number26Player nameJoão Palhinha
Squad number30Player nameCarlos Vinícius
Squad number33Player nameRobinson
Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid
Squad number28Player nameLukic
Squad number2Player nameTete
Squad number6Player nameReed
Squad number8Player nameWilson
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Squad number64Player nameBueno
Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
Squad number21Player nameSarabia
Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
Squad number5Player nameLemina
Squad number23Player nameKilman
Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
Squad number15Player nameDawson
Squad number9Player nameJiménez
Squad number27Player nameMatheus Nunes
Squad number37Player nameTraoré
Squad number12Player nameMatheus Cunha
Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
Squad number29Player nameDiego Costa
Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
Line-ups
Fulham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 17Leno
- 2Tete
- 31Diop
- 13Ream
- 33Robinson
- 6ReedSubstituted forLukicat 45′minutes
- 26João PalhinhaBooked at 18mins
- 14De Cordova-ReidSubstituted forSolomonat 45′minutes
- 18PereiraBooked at 73mins
- 20WillianSubstituted forWilsonat 83′minutes
- 30Alves Morais
Substitutes
- 1Rodák
- 3Kurzawa
- 4Tosin
- 5Duffy
- 8Wilson
- 11Solomon
- 12Cédric Soares
- 21James
- 28Lukic
Wolves
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Sá
- 22Nélson Semedo
- 15Dawson
- 23Kilman
- 64Bueno
- 21SarabiaSubstituted forJoão Moutinhoat 76′minutes
- 8Neves
- 5Lemina
- 27NunesSubstituted forPodenceat 76′minutes
- 9JiménezSubstituted forDiego Costaat 84′minutes
- 12Matheus CunhaSubstituted forTraoréat 60′minutes
Substitutes
- 3Aït-Nouri
- 4Collins
- 10Podence
- 19Castro Otto
- 25Bentley
- 28João Moutinho
- 29Diego Costa
- 35João Gomes
- 37Traoré
- Referee:
- Michael Oliver
- Attendance:
- 24,399
Match Stats
Live Text
Match ends, Fulham 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1.
Second Half ends, Fulham 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1.
Issa Diop (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Diego Costa (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Harry Wilson (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Daniel Podence (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Foul by Sasa Lukic (Fulham).
Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Fulham. Conceded by José Sá.
Attempt saved. Carlos Vinícius (Fulham) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kenny Tete with a cross.
Foul by Hugo Bueno (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Harry Wilson (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Sasa Lukic (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Diego Costa (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tim Ream (Fulham).
Adama Traoré (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Antonee Robinson (Fulham).
Foul by Hugo Bueno (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Harry Wilson (Fulham) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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