English Premier League, Round 28
Molineux (Wolverhampton)
Referee: Stuart Attwell
For the Toffees defender Vitaliy Mykolenko, this match was his 101st in the English Championship. Thus, the Ukrainian unpacked his second hundred matches in the strongest (according to many) league in the world. For the Ukrainian, today was a normal start. He only intensively joined the attack at the beginning of the match, but then concentrated on defense. In particular, he resisted Semed, who constantly played on the right flank of the attack, quite well.
At one point in the 13th minute, Mykolenko crossed into the center of the penalty area. The ball bounced to Doucoure, but his kick was saved by Sa. The hosts controlled the ball almost twice as much in the first half hour of the match, but the visitors were more inventive in attack. And it was Everton who opened the scoring in the 33rd minute of the match.
It all started with a terrible pass from the home side's centre-back into the middle of the field, which the Toffees intercepted thanks to their pressing. The ball immediately found Lindstrom, who passed it left to Harrison. Jack entered the penalty area and shot – with the help of a perfect ricochet, the round one flew under the right post. Harrison's first goal of the current Premier League season.
Wolves responded immediately. Bellegarde almost immediately shot point-blank with a goal, and on the 40th minute he passed the ball to Munetsi in the center. Branthwaite got tangled up in the grass and did not get the ball, Mykolenko did not have time to cover the defender. Thus, Everton's defense, with joint efforts, allowed the 28-year-old representative of Zimbabwe to score.
The main thing that stood out was that the teams attacked 10 on 10 most of the time. And that included the goalkeepers. The central forwards of both teams were on dry rations today, with practically no work. Everton forward Beto found his moment only in the 73rd minute – there Sa saved. And Larsen then left the field without creating any danger.
Although Beto's chance was a real goal, it was the only one for both teams after the break. At certain points in the match, it seemed like it would be nice for the teams to play out a draw. And that's what happened. Each scored one point and left the field not just happy, but not upset either.
Wolverhampton – Everton 1:1
Goals: Munetsi 40 – Harrison 33
“Wolverhampton”: Sa – Doherty, Agbadu, Toti – Semedo (Bueno 90+2), Andre (Doyle 90+2), Joao Gomes, Ait Nouri – Munetsi (Sarabia 46), Bellegarde (Guedes 83) – Larsen (Hwang 74)
Everton: Pickford – O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko – Gue, Garner (Garner 90+2) – Lindstrom (Iroegbunam 63), Doucouré (Alcaraz 63), Harrison – Beto
Bookings: Andre 53, Larsen 62 – Iroegbunam 79, Alcaraz 86
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