Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal of the game as 10-man Bournemouth moved into the top half of the Premier League by beating Wolves 1-0.

Semenyo struck after 37 minutes to deservedly give the Cherries all three points at Molineux, where Wolves had two goals disallowed.

Hwang Hee-chan and Max Kilman thought they had scored equalisers, with the latter netting in the final moments of stoppage time, but Wolves' luck was out.

Milos Kerkez saw red for Bournemouth late on, but they held firm to inflict defeat on their former boss Gary O'Neil, whose Wolves team sit 12th.

Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa was forced into action twice as Bournemouth started well, pushing Semenyo's deflected effort wide before clawing away Marco Senesi's header from the resulting corner.

The hosts nearly gifted the Cherries an opener when Tommy Doyle lost possession inside his own half and Dominic Solanke was played in on goal, but Kilman came up with a vital intervention.

Wolves' first attempt on goal came when Ryan Christie was dispossessed inside his own half, but Mark Travers, making his maiden league start of the season, was able to tip behind Pablo Sarabia’s curling effort.

But the Cherries deservedly went ahead before half-time when Semenyo finished coolly following a free-flowing attacking move.

Bournemouth nearly doubled their lead inside the first 10 minutes of the second half when Justin Kluivert deflected Senesi's shot towards goal, forcing Sa into a smart reaction save.

Wolves thought they had an equaliser when Hwang headed home from Nelson Semedo's cross, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review as Matheus Cunha was deemed to have committed a foul in the build-up.

Kerkez was sent off, with VAR confirming the onfield decision, for a rash lunge on Matt Doherty in the 79th minute, but Wolves were unable to make their numerical advantage count, with Kilman adjudged to have strayed marginally offside when he swept home at the death.

Toothless Wolves seeing their season fade out

Wolves boss O'Neil could not complete the league double against his former employers as his side's winless streak stretched to six league games.

Even with the returning quartet of Semedo, Sarabia, Mario Lemina and Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves struggled to get going as an attacking force.

Sarabia passed up the chance to connect with Hwang's cross before Mario Lemina had a shot deflect over and Ait-Nouri curled an effort wide in their only show of attacking intent in the first half.

They may have had two goals disallowed, but it was all in all a rather toothless attacking display, and Wolves' European hopes have swiftly drifted away.

Cherries on course for record points tally

Bournemouth ended their three-match winless run, and it was ultimately an excellent first-half display that was crucial in getting the job done.

Even Kerkez's recklessness late on was not enough to put them off course, and they now need only two points from their remaining four Premier League fixtures to surpass their record tally of 46 set in the 2016-17 season. 

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta stood in unison with Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola in condemning the fixture schedule.

Guardiola said it was “unacceptable” that his side had to play an FA Cup semi-final less than 72 hours after being in action in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they beat Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday tea-time.

The Gunners’ plight was arguably worse as they were also in Europe on Wednesday night but had to travel back from Germany on Thursday following their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich.

They made light of that quick turnaround as they beat Wolves 2-0 on Saturday to go back to the top of the Premier League before they play again on Tuesday night against Chelsea.

“It’s not about us, Pep or myself, it’s about the well-being of the players,” Arteta said after Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard goals sent his side one point above City.

“Especially when you are competing in European competition, everything has to be competed in the same way.

“You cannot have a team that hasn’t played for seven days or three days before and has more recovery time and you have to play in the Premier League or the FA Cup.

“It is not right. If you look at it any angle it’s not right. If you want to protect and you always talk about the players and the protagonists, let’s protect them and think about them and do everything we can to give them the maximum time so they can recover and they can maintain the show they put on every week.

“We stayed in Munich, I think we had two hours sleep, wake up and we started to talk about Wolves first of all and then understand what we had to do to win the game.

“The boys were unbelievable. You look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played and the attitude and the way they have run today is top.”

It was a good recovery from the Gunners after a horror week where their title hopes were damaged by a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa last week before their Champions League exit in Munich.

But they could be four points clear of City by the time Guardiola’s side next play as they try to wrestle control of a thrilling title race.

Arteta added: “It was really good, I really liked the performance, the result, the clean sheet but also the way individually and a team they showed they still have a step forward to make.

“We realised we want to be involved in big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League, the level it requires, we have to do something special. You have to have that love to compete.”

Wolves battled hard but are crippled by injuries, with the majority of their key attacking players sidelined.

They are now six games without a win, but boss Gary O’Neil was proud.

“I thought it was an incredible performance, it exceeded my expectation of what we were able to produce today,” he said.

“We didn’t deserve to lose 2-0, losing 1-0 and not quite being able to break them down is probably as bad as it should have been for us.

“We came up just short against one of the best teams in world football so there’s no disgrace in that.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta stood in unison with Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola in condemning the fixture schedule.

Guardiola said it was “unacceptable” that his side had to play an FA Cup semi-final less than 72 hours after being in action in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they beat Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday tea-time.

The Gunners’ plight was arguably worse as they were also in Europe on Wednesday night but had to travel back from Germany on Thursday following their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich.

They made light of that quick turnaround as they beat Wolves 2-0 on Saturday to go back to the top of the Premier League before they play again on Tuesday night against Chelsea.

“It’s not about us, Pep or myself, it’s about the well-being of the players,” Arteta said after Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard goals sent his side one point above City.

“Especially when you are competing in European competition, everything has to be competed in the same way.

“You cannot have a team that hasn’t played for seven days or three days before and has more recovery time and you have to play in the Premier League or the FA Cup.

“It is not right. If you look at it any angle it’s not right. If you want to protect and you always talk about the players and the protagonists, let’s protect them and think about them and do everything we can to give them the maximum time so they can recover and they can maintain the show they put on every week.

“We stayed in Munich, I think we had two hours sleep, wake up and we started to talk about Wolves first of all and then understand what we had to do to win the game.

“The boys were unbelievable. You look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played and the attitude and the way they have run today is top.”

It was a good recovery from the Gunners after a horror week where their title hopes were damaged by a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa last week before their Champions League exit in Munich.

But they could be four points clear of City by the time Guardiola’s side next play as they try to wrestle control of a thrilling title race.

Arteta added: “It was really good, I really liked the performance, the result, the clean sheet but also the way individually and a team they showed they still have a step forward to make.

“We realised we want to be involved in big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League, the level it requires, we have to do something special. You have to have that love to compete.”

Wolves battled hard but are crippled by injuries, with the majority of their key attacking players sidelined.

They are now six games without a win, but boss Gary O’Neil was proud.

“I thought it was an incredible performance, it exceeded my expectation of what we were able to produce today,” he said.

“We didn’t deserve to lose 2-0, losing 1-0 and not quite being able to break them down is probably as bad as it should have been for us.

“We came up just short against one of the best teams in world football so there’s no disgrace in that.”

Arsenal recovered from a horror week by returning to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win at Wolves.

The Gunners’ endured potentially season-defining back-to-back defeats as they lost to Aston Villa in the league last Sunday before being knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

But they returned to the summit of the Premier League thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard at Molineux, moving a point above Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

Pep Guardiola’s side were in FA Cup semi-final action on Saturday and, with the Gunners facing Chelsea on Tuesday, they could be four points clear of City by the time the reigning champions next play against Brighton on Thursday.

That would be a big swing in momentum after what was diagnosed as a seemingly terminal defeat against Villa last week, with Liverpool, who also play twice before City are in action again, currently three points behind.

Mikel Arteta’s men were good value for their Saturday night win, even if Trossard’s opener had an air of good fortune about it and then having to wait until injury time to kill the game.

Wolves are crippled by injuries, including most of their key attacking players, but competed well and a shock result might have been possible had Joao Gomes’ first-half shot gone in instead of hitting the post.

Gary O’Neil’s men are now six games without a win in all competitions, but with home fixtures coming up against Bournemouth and Luton they will still be eyeing a top-half finish.

Arsenal did not have long to stew on that midweek defeat in Germany and were soon on top at Molineux.

Trossard was involved from the off, causing trouble down the left and his cross was tamely headed straight to Jose Sa by Bukayo Saka before the Belgian teed up Declan Rice who whistled a low shot just off target.

Trossard was then on the end of the supply line when he was found by Ben White, but he missed his kick in the middle of the penalty area.

For all Arsenal’s domination, it was Wolves who came closest to opening the scoring on the half-hour.

Gomes got the better of Jakub Kiwior down the right, advanced into the area and thundered in a shot which David Raya did well to divert onto the post.

Arsenal survived that scare and took the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Matt Doherty was weak in the challenge with Gabriel Jesus and the Brazilian set it back for Trossard, whose sliced effort went in off the post for his side’s first goal in two and a half games.

Arsenal were able to manage the contest effectively in the second half.

Wolves were so short of attacking options that midfielder Mario Lemina came on as a striker and the hosts upped the ante in the final 15 minutes.

But unsurprisingly, they were unable to create anything clear-cut as they probed for a leveller.

And Arsenal, who have not conceded in a Premier League away game since January, killed the game deep into injury time when Odegaard converted from an acute angle at the second attempt to take the three points and top spot.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta set out to remind his team that they still have something “beautiful” to play for despite their Champions League exit.

The Gunners slipped out of UEFA’s flagship club competition in midweek when they went down 1-0 to Bayern Munich, losing 3-2 on aggregate.

That defeat followed on from a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last Sunday – a reverse that significantly dented Arsenal’s title hopes, with the Gunners now two points behind Manchester City who, after this weekend, will have a game in hand.

Arsenal face Wolves on Saturday and, with City in FA Cup action, a win would see them move back to the top of the table, at least temporarily, so Arteta offered a reminder that all is not lost.

“I can guarantee you we are fully focused on Wolves and everybody's lifted,” he said following the loss in Munich.

“What we still have to play is beautiful and I said before, it's time to be next to our players and in this moment, not when you win 10 in a row and a draw, that's easy to prize our players and to be behind them and to say really nice things. The moment is now to be next to them.”

On Friday, in his pre-match press conference, Arteta added: “As an experience, [the Champions League was] the best one.

“I am now fully focused on the times ahead of us. We are now behind Manchester City and will give it a good go. The context is clear. If we win we are top of the league.”

Wolves sit 11th, though they could do with snapping a four-game winless streak in order to get their European hopes back on track.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves – Matheus Cunha

Cunha has been involved in nine goals in his last nine Premier League games, scoring six and assisting three. His 11 goals overall this season is the fourth most by a Wolves player in a single Premier League campaign after Raul Jimenez (17 in 2019-20, 13 in 2018-19) and Steven Fletcher (12 in 2011-12).

Arsenal – Bukayo Saka

Saka has been involved in eight goals in his last seven Premier League away games, scoring seven and assisting one. His 13 away goal involvements overall this term (eight goals, five assists) is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League campaign since Alexis Sanchez’s 20 in 2016-17.

MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN

Arsenal lost a Premier League game for the first time in 2024 against Villa last time out. Since the start of last season, only twice have the Gunners suffered consecutive league defeats, doing so in May 2023 (v Brighton and Nottingham Forest) and December this season (v West Ham and Fulham).

Wolves are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2), though they have won their last two at Molineux against sides starting the day in the top two of the table, beating Man City 2-1 in September and Spurs by the same score in November.

Arsenal have scored in their last 32 meetings with Wolves in all competitions.

Wolves have now lost each of their last five against the Gunners, failing to score in both home defeats in that run.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves – 21.5%

Arsenal – 51.2%

Draw – 27.3%

Nuno Espirito Santo felt his Nottingham Forest side missed an opportunity to give themselves breathing space in the Premier League relegation fight after they drew 2-2 against Wolves.

After Matheus Cunha’s fine individual strike put the visitors ahead, goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo either side of half-time gave Forest the advantage.

But Cunha’s second of the match denied Forest the victory as they moved one point clear of Luton, who were beaten heavily at Manchester City.

With home games against City and Chelsea remaining, Forest’s survival fate could well be decided by away matches at Everton, Sheffield United and Burnley.

Though they are hoping to recoup some of the four points they were docked by the Premier League for breaking financial rules, with an appeal date still to be set.

Former Wolves boss Nuno said: “We are in a fight. It’s going to be a tough one but we’ll give it our all.

“I think it’s a wasted opportunity. I think we did enough. It is disappointing with the way we conceded but offensively we were the better team. We were dominant and had chances.

“It’s very frustrating, not only for me but for all of us – the players and the fans. It’s very frustrating. Beside the need we had, we were better so it’s a missed opportunity. We are all sad and disappointed.”

Cunha’s second goal was the 22nd time Forest have conceded from a set-piece this season and this was one of the most costly.

“Even the first goal, we allowed Wolves individual actions and too many situations,” Nuno said.

“If there’s one player in the box, we allowed them to turn – too soft. The second one is bad defending.”

Wolves, who are playing with a sizeable injury list, look set for a mid-table finish as European qualification now looks out of reach with no wins in the last four.

But boss Gary O’Neil is proud of his side after having only 12 senior outfield players to pick from.

“We are getting a bit closer, we have got people coming back but still a very tough puzzle to put together at the moment, for me and the guys,” he said.

“There is a lot going on at the moment to get through games, they deserve huge credit because it is tough getting points away from home in the Premier League when you are at full strength, so to come here with what we have available to us at the moment is a real positive result and a positive performance because they showed a lot of quality and some real grit and determination.

“Good players make a massive difference. We came here today and I had to pick the 10 outfield players from 12.

“It’s the toughest spell I have had as a manager or a player, I don’t think there will be many teams choosing 10 outfield players from 12 players.

“But there is no excuses or moaning, there is just a real sense of pride. We took three points off Fulham, a point away at Burnley and Nottingham Forest with basically 12 senior players in every one of those. Credit to the group.”

Morgan Gibbs-White taunted his former club Wolves but Nottingham Forest could only earn a 2-2 draw which did little to help their Premier League survival hopes.

Gibbs-White goaded the away fans after he scored and was then involved in his side’s second goal but Matheus Cunha’s double for Wolves ensured Forest were denied all three points.

They would have seen this as a good opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and Luton, who lost heavily at Manchester City, but the gap is just one point.

And with home games with City and Chelsea remaining, their survival fate could well be decided by away matches at Everton, Sheffield United and Burnley.

Though they are hoping to recoup some of the four points they were docked by the Premier League for breaking financial rules, with an appeal date still to be set.

Wolves, who are playing with a sizeable injury list, look set for a mid-table finish as European qualification now looks out of reach with no wins in the last four.

All of the early pressure was from the hosts as they started on the front foot, with Ryan Yates testing Jose Sa from distance and then Callum Hudson-Odoi and Gio Reyna shooting off target from promising positions.

Yet, Wolves should have led in the 27th minute after being presented with a golden chance by some suicidal passing out from the back.

With his back to goal, Yates passed straight to Joao Gomes, whose curled shot beat Matz Sels but was heroically cleared off the line by Murillo.

The goal was gaping as the ball fell straight to Pablo Sarabia from the rebound but he dragged his shot wide.

Wolves did go ahead in the 40th minute with a brilliant solo effort by Cunha.

He ran his marker Andrew Omobamidele all the way down the left flank into the penalty area, then turned him superbly, cut inside Yates, and fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

The lead was short-lived, though, as Forest levelled in first-half stoppage time and it was only ever going to be one man.

Gibbs-White found space at the near post from Reyna’s corner and glanced into the far corner before enjoying his celebration.

The former Wolves midfielder pretended to celebrate in front of the Forest fans before turning to the away section, who had been booing him.

He was involved again as Forest took a 57th-minute lead when he burst into the area and after he was tackled by Matt Doherty the ball fell perfectly for Danilo to slot home.

But five minutes later Cunha’s second of the game brought Wolves level as he turned home from close range after Forest could not deal with a corner.

It was the 22nd time Forest have conceded from a set-piece this season and this was one of the most costly.

They were the ones pushing for the win with Hudson-Odoi and Neco Williams missing presentable chances as they had to settle for a point.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil admitted he may face further disciplinary action after confronting referee Tony Harrington following his side’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to West Ham at Molineux.

Wolves were angered when Maximilian Kilman’s goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time was disallowed, something O’Neil described as “possibly the worst decision I’ve ever seen”.

VAR Darren England advised Harrington to check the monitor as Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa was stood in front of Lukasz Fabianski in an offside position and deemed to be impeding the West Ham goalkeeper.

Wolves’ protests led to a flurry of yellow cards for those on O’Neil’s bench, and the manager said he walked towards the tunnel because he was aware he is one yellow card away from a touchline ban.

But O’Neil’s attempts to speak to Harrington after the game may yet lead to further problems.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to control my emotions and my feelings,” O’Neil said. “I was in with the referee and it didn’t go too well so I haven’t had an explanation.

“But the explanation is irrelevant anyway because everyone I’ve spoken to, David Moyes, Fabianski, they all can’t believe it’s been given for offside. It’s a terrible decision.”

O’Neil said Harrington shut down their conversation “probably because of the way I asked”, adding that he was “in a fairly bad mood” when he went to the referee’s room.

“I don’t know if it will be reported,” O’Neil added. “If I get told off, so be it. I’ve been told off many times before. I will apologise if I’ve stepped over the line but I can only react on how I feel at that moment.”

West Ham came from behind to win with James Ward-Prowse scoring directly from a corner after Lucas Paqueta’s penalty cancelled out a first-half spot-kick from Pablo Sarabia.

Moyes expressed sympathy for O’Neil but said any player stood where Chirewa had was at risk of being penalised for offside.

Asked if his side had got away with a decision, the Scot said: “I think I’m probably the last man at the moment to say you’re getting away with one. We’ve had so many poor decisions it is unbelievable in recent weeks.

“When I’ve looked at it again, the boy’s definitely standing in front of the goalkeeper…and if that player is not going to try to get back onside then there’s a chance you’ll be called offside.

“But I have to say I felt for Gary because the way I’ve felt the last 2-3 weeks with the decisions we’ve had, I’ve been sitting in a dark room for a week.”

Wolves have disputed several refereeing decisions throughout the season, and O’Neil said his players felt they had been disrespected.

“The players are unbelievably frustrated with the decision-making and officiating,” he said.

“They had a discussion as a group, they don’t feel like they’re being respected by the officials and I’ve talked them down a couple of times from figuring out what they want to do about that.

“I can’t expect them not to this time, I understand how they feel about it, and whatever they decide to do about it is up to them.”

Wolves had deservedly led at the break, but West Ham improved massively after the half-time introduction of Michail Antonio and Ben Johnson.

“I think the two teams changed shirts at half-time,” Moyes said.

But the win may have come at a cost with Jarrod Bowen limping off as Thursday’s Europa League match away to Bayer Leverkusen looms.

“He’s had a knee into his hip, or into his back,” Moyes said. “It’s not a twist but he’s really stiff. I’ve had one or two of those myself and they don’t go away too quickly so we need to hope it doesn’t linger with him.”

James Ward-Prowse scored directly from a corner as West Ham came from behind to win 2-1 at Wolves but only after Jarrod Bowen was injured, days before their Europa League clash against Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Ward-Prowse took advantage of the wind whipping around Molineux to curl in a corner in the 84th minute after Lucas Paqueta’s 72nd-minute penalty had cancelled out a first-half spot-kick from Pablo Sarabia in this Premier League contest.

Wolves captain Maximilian Kilman thought he had levelled in the ninth minute of stoppage time but his header was ruled out for offside after a VAR intervention.

The win puts West Ham level on points with sixth-placed Manchester United in the fight for Europa League places, but their immediate European ambitions may well be hurt after Bowen fell awkwardly at the start of the second half, with the trip to Leverkusen looming on Thursday night.

David Moyes’ side have now taken 19 points from losing positions this season, although this was only West Ham’s third league win of 2024.

The Hammers could and should have taken the lead 11 minutes in through the industry of Bowen, who robbed Nelson Semedo on the byline and threaded a low ball through to Tomas Soucek yards from goal. However, the Czech Republic international could not get the ball out of his feet.

It was a key moment as Wolves went on to dominate the rest of the half. Rayan Ait-Nouri, nominally a left-back but a player who came into the game with three goals in four games after being shifted in a more attacking role, again took on the leading role.

The Algerian went close when he ran almost the length of the pitch to burst into the box, only for Kurt Zouma to slide in as he was about to pull the trigger, before Tommy Doyle brought a save out of veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, again deputising for the injured Alphonse Areola.

The pressure was building and paid off when Doyle’s pass from the left found another excellent run from Ait-Nouri, who was felled by Emerson Palmieri in the box. After a VAR check, Sarabia stepped up to beat Fabianski with a spot-kick that went in off the inside of the right-hand post.

Moyes may well have had one eye on Thursday’s trip to Germany when leaving Michail Antonio on the bench but he took action on the break as the Jamaican came on to make his 300th appearance, joined by Ben Johnson as Soucek and Vladimir Coufal made way.

Minutes after the restart Bowen appeared to injure his hip after a challenge with Gomes, and moments later Wolves lost Ait-Nouri, who hobbled off in the 55th minute to be replaced by Matheus Cunha.

The changes seemed to do more to help West Ham as they finally exerted some pressure. Mohammed Kudus fired over before Ward-Prowse saw a free-kick deflected wide.

The Hammers thought they were level in the 63rd minute when Emerson headed in, but Tony Harrington generously signalled for a foul on Semedo in the build-up.

Wolves were creating their own problems, failing to clear the ball, and would be made to pay in the 72nd minute.

Gomes played the ball back to Toti in a tight space and West Ham whipped it away before Emerson’s cross was blocked by the arm of Kilman, with Paqueta dispatching the penalty after a stuttering run-up.

Johnson tested Sa with a volley and two minutes later, Ward-Prowse’s corner sailed over the goalkeeper and in.

Wolves thought they were level at the end but Harrington was sent to the check the screen by VAR Darren England and Tawanda Chirewa was deemed to be blocking Fabianski as Kilman headed in the corner, to the fury of the home fans.

Vincent Kompany has promised his Burnley team will fight until the end in their battle against relegation and believes there is still more to come from his players this season.

The Clarets extended their unbeaten run to four games but could not earn what might have been a crucial win as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves on Tuesday night, with Rayan Ait-Nouri cancelling out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s fine volley.

The gap to safety grew to six points with seven games left to play, but with a trip to fellow strugglers Everton up next on Saturday, Kompany will keep believing.

“I’m fairly confident our team is a team of improvement, we can get better and I want them to continue doing that,” Kompany said.

“It’s not surprising at all that we are where we are but, OK, that’s in the past. It’s what the next game brings. Start the game with confidence we can do something.

“I don’t conceive a moment this season where we won’t keep fighting.”

For Wolves, the draw moved them on to 42 points, surpassing last season’s total with eight games left to play.

They sit three points behind seventh-placed West Ham with a game in hand, and two points behind Newcastle having played the same number.

In a season which began with questions over whether or not they had the resources to compete, earning European football for next campaign remains a very realistic target despite a recent glut of injuries.

“There’s never been a top-seven focus, just finish as high as we can,” Gary O’Neil said. “I would love us to finish in the top seven, the lads would love to finish in the top seven and they’re pushing as hard as they can.

“Obviously it has just been made more difficult but that doesn’t mean we can’t achieve it.”

Wolves have been particularly depleted in attack, lately relying on the goals of usual left-back Ait-Nouri, who scored for the third time in four games.

Teenage striker Leon Chiwome led the line at Turf Moor in only his second Premier League appearance, and although Matheus Cunha came off the bench to make his first appearance since mid-February the likes of Pedro Neto, Hee Chan Hwang, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde remain out.

O’Neil said he had seen such problems coming during the January window because of the amount he was asking of the club’s small squad, but financial constraints meant they could do nothing to mitigate the situation.

“We are missing some very good players which makes it difficult to get results in the Premier League,” he said.

“It’s a tough situation and a bit of me is disappointed that we got into such an unbelievable position and then the injuries have caught up with us.

“We told the club in January that we were overloading the players – I felt our injury record would get worse and that we could suffer a couple of injuries in the top line that would make a huge difference.

“We had a Premier League number nine lined up and a small amount of money stopped us doing it. You can see why the club’s aim was to stay in the Premier League.

“I’m trying to pick a starting eleven from about 12 outfield players – I doubt there’s another club who are like that. Unbelievable credit to the lads in there. It’s a special group.”

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was left to rue another refereeing decision after his relegation-battling side were held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves.

A day after Kompany said refereeing standards in the Premier League this season have “not been good enough”, the Belgian disputed Thomas Bramall’s decision to award Wolves the free-kick from which Rayan Ait-Nouri cancelled out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s goal deep into first half stoppage time.

Ait-Nouri went down under a challenge from Dara O’Shea, but Kompany said there had been no contact between the two.

“Don’t get me on referees again!” Kompany said.

“But if we have to, of course, it was an issue. If you do a pirouette and you fall on your own, absolutely no contact made, then it’s just not a foul, I think we can all agree on this.

“But then as well the referee is in the best position ever, a really good position, he sees it, I can see it from three times as far as he is and for some reason there’s a decision made out of nothing.

“Then I look at my own team, and how we defend the set-play, that’s always the case, but yes, it’s a repeat and it doesn’t make it any easier.”

The draw extended Burnley’s unbeaten run to four games, but the gap to safety grew to six points as Nottingham Forest beat Fulham 3-1.

Burnley were on top for much of the game, but could not make their dominance pay. However, Kompany saw it as a point gained rather than two lost.

“We played in every sense how we were supposed to,” he said.

“We were aggressive, we were on the front foot, we created chances. I feel at every level it was a good performance. I’ll take the point and we go again.

“I can only praise the players. They looked like a Premier League team today. It doesn’t buy us any points or get us any higher in the league. Perhaps we belong a little bit higher if it hadn’t been for so many bad decisions.

“Right now we’ve not earned the right to remain in the Premier League. All we need is a fighting chance, that’s all. It was never going to be an easy season, it’s not surprising we are where we are but what I can guarantee you is that until the very last moment we will keep fighting.”

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil called the draw a “fair result” as his injury-hit side had to dig in to earn a point that takes them to 42 for the campaign, surpassing last season’s total.

Ait-Nouri’s header was his third goal in four for Wolves as he plays in a more advanced role while several forwards have been out injured.

Although the Algerian squandered a superb chance in the second half when played in one-on-one, O’Neil is grateful for his goal-scoring form.

“He’s doing unbelievably well with the changes and the different areas we’re asking him to pop up in,” he said.

“Not very often but occasionally he looks like a left-back, unfortunately those two times have been when he’s six yards with just the goalkeeper to beat, but an unbelievable performance from him again.

“Burnley would have fancied this. Wolves coming with no Pedro Neto, no Matheus Cunha, no (Hee Chan) Hwang, no (Jean-Ricner) Bellegarde, no (Craig) Dawson, Burnley would have seen this as a game they could go and try and win, definitely.

“And the lads didn’t look like a team that had reached 41 points and were happy to settle. I thought they fought, worked, showed moments of quality. I’m really proud of what they produced and the situation is looking brighter.”

Rayan Ait-Nouri’s third goal in four games earned Wolves a 1-1 draw at relegation-battling Burnley.

Jacob Bruun Larsen volleyed in a fine goal for the hosts in the 37th minute but Ait-Nouri levelled deep into first-half stoppage time and Burnley’s late push for a winner came to nothing.

The Clarets extended their unbeaten run to four games but Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win over Fulham saw the gap to safety grow to six points with seven games left while Wolves remain in touch with the battle for European places.

Burnley were once again playing some encouraging stuff in the opening stages as Wilson Odobert found space between the lines and they launched a number of runs into the Wolves box but without finding a way to threaten Jose Sa’s goal.

Wolves’ threat came mostly on the break and when Nelson Semedo burst forward down the right he rolled the ball back for Ait-Nouri on the edge of the box but a poor touch from the Algerian allowed Vitinho to steal the ball away.

As Burnley fans in one block of the Jimmy McIlroy stand behind Aro Muric’s goal were being evacuated due to a strip of metal left hanging from the roof, Joao Gomes headed just wide of the target and towards the newly-emptied seats.

But Burnley were quickly back on the front foot and Lyle Foster slipped the ball for Vitinho to run at goal but his shot was too close to Sa.

However, the Portuguese goalkeeper could do nothing about Larsen’s strike as the on-loan Hoffenheim man met Dara O’Shea’s ball from deep on the volley to sweep it into the far corner.

Wolves’ 18-year-old striker Leon Chiwome, making only his second Premier League appearance, fired wide after a scramble in the area but the visitors did not have an effort on goal until equalising three minutes into stoppage time.

Burnley were upset by a soft free-kick decision against O’Shea, then failed to deal with the consequences as Pablo Sarabia’s cross was headed in by Ait-Nouri, with the goal surviving a VAR check.

Ait-Nouri might have had a second eight minutes into the second half when he latched on to a fine ball from Matt Doherty and beat Maxime Esteve to go clean through on goal but Muric stood firm to block the Algerian’s strike.

Burnley responded with one of their best moves of the game.

Foster laid the ball off for the advancing Vitinho on the right and he pulled the ball back for Josh Cullen in front of goal but Sa repelled the midfielder’s low shot.

Odobert then tested the goalkeeper with a powerful shot when a loose ball fell to him in the area.

Matheus Cunha came off the bench to make his first Wolves appearance since mid-February following a hamstring injury while Vincent Kompany sent on Jay Rodriguez as Burnley tried to find a winner.

The veteran striker did have the ball in the net in the 87th minute but the flag was up for offside and the points were shared.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has said the standard of refereeing in the Premier League “hasn’t been good enough” this season.

Kompany was sent off during Saturday’s 2-2 draw away to Chelsea for his protests against a penalty decision which also led to defender Lorenz Assignon seeing red, the latest in a string of incidents Kompany believes have gone against the relegation-battling Clarets.

Kompany said he spoke to referee Darren England after Saturday’s match to apologise for his choice of words at the time, and he has also had a number of discussions with referees’ chief Howard Webb, but on Monday he was clear he felt standards have dropped this term.

“I’ll keep saying what I think,” Kompany said. “I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season.

“And I have said that in, I think, a constructive way, understanding as well the fact it’s not easy for them. The scrutiny is massive, the pressure is bigger than it’s ever been on the officials.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.”

Kompany, who had 11 seasons as a player for Manchester City, said he had always regarded English refereeing as the best in the world, but this season’s experience has raised questions.

“I felt common sense was always trying to be applied,” he added. “You make a mistake and we all have a laugh about it and usually the traditional view is that it all evens itself out over the course of a season.

“This year, I haven’t felt like this. Where we are in the league doesn’t really matter for me, it’s not in that conversation.

“I’m not afraid to say it. I saw the interview of my colleague, (Sheffield United manager) Chris Wilder, that I’m fond of and that I really respect, and he said he’s a hard-working Yorkshireman, he doesn’t want to be fined anymore.

“I haven’t got any issues with being fined. I just want it to be right. It’s not something I say in a vindictive way, you can see I’m not even as angry anymore. We’ve just got to get it right and at this moment in time, it’s fallen short.”

Despite playing more than half of Saturday’s match a man down at Stamford Bridge, Burnley twice came from behind to earn a point, and might even have won it late on.

Having taken five points from their last three games, Burnley go into Tuesday’s match against Wolves with renewed hope they could yet pull off a great escape, sitting four points from safety with eight games to go.

“All we’re asking is to have an opportunity,” Kompany said. “If between now and the end of the season, we have just one opportunity, that’s enough for us. It’s trying to bring ourselves into a position where we give ourselves a chance…

“It’s difficult to go through the season we’ve gone through and at the end to still be a team, to still be a team as players, as a staff. But I think that’s who we are.

“Whatever happens in the next eight games, whether we win all eight of them or lose all eight of them, that is not going to change and that’s going to be the foundation of next season as well.”

Aston Villa face a nervous wait to find out the extent of Ollie Watkins’ hamstring injury.

Boss Unai Emery confirmed the England international was taken off at half-time of the 2-0 win over Wolves with the problem and will undergo tests on Sunday.

He is now a major doubt for the midweek trip to Manchester City and Villa will be desperately hoping the injury is not a serious one as they enter a crucial run-in where they are aiming for Champions League qualification and Europa Conference League glory.

Their top-four hopes were boosted by victory over their midlands rivals, with goals from Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa in either half earning a vital three points.

Emery said: “He was feeling something, hamstring, more or less, and he was telling us he could carry on playing but the doctor told us it was better not to play with risk and we decided to stop him.

“Tomorrow we will check him and maybe its his hamstring, we hope not a lot, but we will see.”

On the game, Emery said it was important to get back to winning ways at home after recent losses to Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham.

“Very important, those three points here in Villa Park have been difficult, so many times we have played here against Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham, all different matches, but we didn’t achieve in those matches,” the Spaniard added.

“But we are being consistent and we are recovering our confidence and our way.

“Today, I think the important was victory. We were serious.”

Wolves were left to rue a big miss by Rayan Ait-Nouri with the score at 0-0 as the Algeria international failed to convert when he had time and space at the far post.

Boss Gary O’Neil said: “It’s a goal. I mean, 99 times out of 100 in a Premier League game that ends in a goal.

“He has got a big area of the goal to hit and he is not very far out so you’d back him to score.

“Sometimes it doesn’t go your way and the goalie makes a good save. Rayan played two 90 minutes for Algeria in the week and I thought he maybe didn’t look as sharp as he has done and a bit tired.

“The only thing I was disappointed with to be honest was the result. Performance-wise there were loads and loads of positives.

“Obviously we didn’t come here to lose so it is really disappointing that we did. But that performance I can sign up for no problem, if that is what the lads are going to give and that’s what we are going to be, that will be enough to win us enough games and keep us moving in the right direction.”

Aston Villa maintained their pursuit of Champions League qualification with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Villa Park.

Unai Emery's men had been knocked down into fifth by Tottenham’s late win over Luton earlier on Saturday but they responded in style in the midlands derby.

Moussa Diaby notched his first Premier League goal of 2024 to open the scoring in the first half before Ezri Konsa celebrated his recent England debut with a rare strike, though it was a fluke.

He will not care too much about that as his side climbed back up into fourth position, three points above Spurs, as they chase qualification to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time.

It was also an important victory considering they visit Manchester City in midweek, but the one worry will be the condition of Ollie Watkins, who did not reappear after the half-time interval.

Wolves, so depleted of attacking options they were forced to hand a Premier League debut to 18-year-old striker Leon Chiwome, will regret the glaring chance missed by Rayan Ait-Nouri early in the game as they slipped to a defeat which damages their own hopes of qualifying for Europe.

Villa knew exactly what they had to do after Spurs’ late rally and thought they had made the perfect start when Douglas Luiz forced the ball home after Jose Sa had saved from Watkins, but the England striker was offside and the goal was chalked off.

Wolves should have been celebrating going in front as they spurned a golden chance in the 15th minute.

Santiago Bueno’s cross from the right made it through to an unmarked Ait-Nouri at the far post, but Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got across brilliantly to deny a certain goal.

Villa began to up the intensity and Watkins had the sort of opportunity he usually gobbles up as Youri Tielemans played him through on goal, but this time he clipped into the side-netting.

Pau Torres then glanced a header straight at Sa before Villa’s dominance was rewarded with a 36th-minute breakthrough.

Luiz’s free-kick was fizzed back across goal by Leon Bailey and, with the aid of a deflection, the ball fell perfectly for Diaby, who lashed home from the edge of the area to end his league drought.

Watkins’ half-time exit disrupted Villa’s fluency after the restart and they needed a huge dollop of luck to double their lead in the 65th minute.

A sweeping move saw the ball played out to Konsa on the overlap and he skewed his chipped cross from the right byline over the head of Sa and in off the far post.

Nicolo Zaniolo, who was the driving force behind the second goal, then had two quickfire chances to kill the game but shot straight at Sa on both occasions.

Villa closed out the game without any issues to register an important win in the race for the top four.