Gary O'Neil felt the awarding of Manchester City's stoppage-time winning goal was "harsh", as Wolves were denied a share of the spoils at Molineux.
The hosts had frustrated the reigning Premier League champions for long periods, and looked like they would claim only a morale-boosting second point of the season.
However, there was to be a dramatic twist in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with John Stones powering home a header from Phil Foden's corner to snatch all three points.
The goal was subjected to a VAR review after the referee's assistant initially raised his flag, with Bernardo Silva in an offside position and in close proximity to Jose Sa.
However, Chris Kavanagh subsequently ruled Silva was not interfering with the Wolves goalkeeper, and O'Neil questioned the inconsistency of such decisions.
"I am trying to remain calm," he said. "I have been involved in a few of those and not had many go in our favour, so I was expecting that outcome.
"There is some grey area that can go either way and, once it was like that, I wasn't confident it would go our way.
"It was similar to a goal [Wolves had disallowed] against West Ham last season. We sent an image to referees showing proof that the West Ham keeper could see the ball, but the reason we were given was the player was in close proximity.
"The same argument could be said here, but we just have to accept it. I would rather not discuss it because it will still sound like I am making excuses. Whatever decision they make, I respect. We don't want to cross that line, but it did feel like a harsh one."
Wolves replaced Southampton at the bottom of the Premier League table, and have now failed to win any of their opening eight league games in a season for the first time in 41 years.
But O'Neil believes his squad can build on the positives they demonstrated against City.
"I am proud of the players," he added. "[It was] an unbelievable effort and we gave ourselves a great chance. I am gutted for the players that we had to leave with nothing.
"The performance was excellent. I thought the lads gave absolutely everything. We kept finding the answers, and we conceded a controversial goal late on. The things that could go against us today definitely did, but we have to take positives.
"It's tough defending for so long, it is so hard to get out. They were working their socks off, they gave everything, they showed what they are, which is all I asked. We need to make sure it looks like that more often.
"It has been such a cruel run of fixtures. We need to keep standing up. We are where we are, and we need to make sure we keep producing the best of ourselves."
Hull receive apology from referee after Sunderland defeat
Tim Walter says referee Robert Madley apologised to him following Hull City's defeat by Sunderland.
The Black Cats returned to the Championship summit, with Wilson Isidor's third goal in four games enough to seal all three points at the MKM Stadium.
The winning goal came in the 63rd minute, though Hull felt it should not have stood.
From a Tigers corner, referee Madley appeared to obstruct the view of Marvin Mehlem, who was subsequently dispossessed before Dan Neil sent Isidor clear, with the Zenit loanee outmuscling Cody Drameh before lifting over Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.
Walter later confirmed he had received an apology from the official for the incident, but acknowledged his side were ultimately made to pay for not taking their chances.
"The referee invited me in [to the official's room] to apologise, but it doesn't help me," he told BBC Radio Humberside. "But we had a lot of situations in the first half and a lot of counter situations, but our last decision wasn't the best.
"We created many chances, but we weren't clinical enough and, maybe, lost our heads in the last five minutes. We had more courage in the second half, and we showed we can maybe be on the same page as them."
As for Sunderland, who leapfrogged Burnley back to the top of the table, that is now seven wins from their opening 10 games.
"It's difficult to win away, especially at Hull," said head coach Regis le Bris. "In the first half, we dominated the ball but failed to break into the final third.
"The scenario in the second half was different. They kept the ball, and it was not easy to deal with the way they built up their attacks, and we did well.
"We were prepared to use our counter-attacks as we had that strength, and Wilson made the difference."
Maresca: Chelsea 'deserved something more' from Liverpool loss
Enzo Maresca felt Chelsea "deserved something more" from their 2-1 defeat against Liverpool.
The Blues suffered only their second Premier League defeat of the season, as Curtis Jones' strike settled the contest at Anfield.
Nicolas Jackson had struck within minutes of the restart to cancel out Mohamed Salah's first-half penalty, but Chelsea missed the opportunity to climb to third place in the table.
Nevertheless, Maresca believes his players can leave Anfield with their heads held high.
"We don't like to lose or drop points, but I really liked the performance," he told Sky Sports. "We deserved something more, but the performance was good.
"We controlled most of the game. We had chances, we had possession. We don't like to lose, but if we have to choose, this is the way. The team was brave on and off the ball.
"I don't think this game defines where we are. We prepared in the best way, it worked quite well. You have to take chances, but overall I am very happy with the players."
Meanwhile, Reece James felt Chelsea's performance epitomised the impressive strides they have made in a short space of time.
The right-back made his first Premier League start for the club since December 2023, managing 53 minutes on his return to action.
"Coming here is always tough," the Blues skipper said. "I think we controlled most of the game. They had chances; we had a few chances as well but didn't take them.
"We are definitely moving in the right direction. The scoreline doesn't reflect the game.
"If we step back and look at performances and what we are trying to do, we have come a long way. It is still early days, we haven't been with the manager long."
'We showed up' - Slot hails Liverpool fight against Chelsea
Arne Slot was pleased with the fight that Liverpool showed, as they passed their toughest test yet under his leadership with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead from the penalty spot after Curtis Jones was felled by Levi Colwill just before the half-hour mark.
The 23-year-old then scored the winner, restoring Liverpool's lead shortly after Nicolas Jackson had restored parity, and his goal ensured they went back to the top of the table.
Slot's electric start to life on Merseyside continued, and Liverpool have won 10 of their 11 games across all competitions this season – only losing to Nottingham Forest – their most victories after that many matches in a campaign since 1990-91 under Kenny Daglish (also 10).
While Chelsea edged the game in terms of possession (57.3%) and chances (12 to Liverpool's eight), the hosts dug deep to ensure they prevailed with all three points.
And Slot was delighted with the work rate his team showed in what he thought was a difficult contest.
"Many other games were hard, but this might have been the hardest, maybe because of the amount of quality players they have and the structure they have. We had to fight really hard to get this one over the line," he told BBC Match of the Day.
"We defended so strongly, throughout the whole team. There was incredible work rate. The game became difficult for us because there were a few decisions, in my opinion, that didn't go for us.
"The most crucial was when we thought we had the penalty before half-time. To go 2-0 [up] before half-time would make a massive difference from 1-0. Then, we conceded, but we stepped up again and scored the second.
"The better the teams you face, the more you need it [fight]. In the Premier League, there are so many good teams. If you want to win, at least you need to fight and then, hopefully, the individuals can make the difference.
"It helps if you play against a Chelsea, it is a big game, and everyone feels it. We felt it and the fans felt it because they were there for us today. We showed up, that was the most important thing."
Jones orchestrated most of Liverpool's best play, winning the first penalty, and he was fouled for what the hosts thought was a second before the break, only for it to be overturned by VAR.
The youngster struck his first Premier League goal since New Year's Day against Newcastle United, and got both of his shots on target, and Slot was impressed by his performance.
"Very good, the whole team worked very, very hard," Slot told Sky Sports. "He had a difficult job controlling Cole Palmer, which is not easy as he has quality. And he added some important moments, too - involved in two penalty decisions and scoring a goal."
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