Matheus Cunha scored two goals and assisted one as Wolves stunned Fulham with a 4-1 victory at Craven Cottage, making it back-to-back Premier League wins for the visitors.

Alex Iwobi's fantastic long-range curler put Fulham ahead in the 19th minute but Cunha – a bright spark in a so far demoralising season for Gary O'Neil's men – poked home a 31st-minute equaliser.

Cunha turned provider as Joao Gomes put Wolves ahead early in the second half, with the Brazilian duo later trading roles when Cunha added his second with an astonishing finish from the edge of the box.

Fulham were forced to finish the game with 10 men due to Joachim Andersen sustaining an injury after they had used all their substitutes, and Goncalo Guedes came off the bench to add a fourth for Wolves.

The victory lifts them outside the relegation zone on nine points, while Fulham drop two places to ninth, four adrift of the top four.

Data Debrief: Clutch Cunha ready to lead Wolves' survival push

Cunha will justifiably grab the headlines in the coming days after a superb all-round display at Craven Cottage. His opening goal calmed the visitors' nerves before the break as a deft touch and finish ensured the away side went in level.

However, his link-up play in the second half really caught the eye, with a sharp pass to tee up Gomes and a late goal that took the game away from Fulham.

A debate between which of his two goals was better underlines just how impressive he was against Marco Silva's team. He has a total of 10 direct Premier League goal contributions so far this season (seven goals, three assists), meaning he has been involved in half of Wolves' strikes. 

He also has 26 goal involvements in his last 29 Premier League starts, scoring 17 and assisting nine. If Wolves are to survive, he will hold the key.

Wolverhampton Wanderers earned their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Southampton 2-0 at Molineux.  

Pablo Sarabia scored Wolves’ fastest-ever Premier League goal to give them the breakthrough with only one minute and 48 seconds on the clock. 

Southampton left-back Ryan Manning had a goal overturned by the VAR 10 minutes later for Mateus Fernandes’ foul on Nelson Semedo in the build-up. 

But Matheus Cunha’s stunning strike early in the second half ended hopes of a Saints comeback, as the Brazilian added to his assist for the first goal. 

Southampton continued to see more of the ball and probed for a goal, but the Wolves defence held firm to secure a crucial victory in a battle between the relegation strugglers.  

The result meant Wolves climbed up to 18th in the table with six points, while it is Southampton who now occupy the bottom spot with four points from 11 matches.

Wolves manager Gary O'Neil has attempted to take the pressure off the players ahead of their weekend match against fellow strugglers Crystal Palace.

O'Neil's side are currently 19th in the Premier League with just two points from their opening nine matches, with Palace four points above them in 17th.

“I know there will be a lot made of the next games, but they’re not must wins,” O’Neil told a pre-match press conference. 

“Crystal Palace are good. They spent £30million on a striker from Arsenal and Eze is pretty good! We need to be ready in every game and we want to win.

“Southampton will also be tough, they keep the ball forever and have a real set way of playing.

Wolves fought back from two goals down to claim a point in a 2-2 draw against Brighton last weekend, having only scored their first after 88 minutes. Their manager was clear on that never-say-die attitude always being present at the club.

“There will be challenges in every game because that’s the level of the Premier League, but we’ll keep going," he said.

“The lads will never stop. We’ll stand up, we’ll keep going and we’ll be fine. 

“The one thing I guarantee we won’t come up short on is fight, passion, togetherness and effort.

“If we come up short on quality sometimes, we work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, but we definitely won’t come up short on anything else.”

Opposite number Oliver Glasner, meanwhile, has fitness worries over some key players going into this match after both Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton came off injured against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup in midweek.

While he was positive that Wharton's injury was just the recurrence of an existing issue, he was less sure about Eze.

“I hope that it’s not too serious but I don’t know. It’s not the best information that I got today that Ebs had to leave the pitch," he said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves - Matheus Cunha

Cunha got Wolves' equaliser against Brighton deep into stoppage time last weekend, bringing him to four for the season so far.

He has scored in 15 Premier League matches for Wolves, but curiously has only ended on the winning side in three of them (D3 L9).

Crystal Palace - Jean-Philippe Mateta

Mateta is Crystal Palace's top scorer this season, having scored three league goals and laid on one assist. In all competitions, meanwhile, he has five goals.

The Frenchman has scored 16 goals in his last 20 Premier League starts for Crystal Palace. Mateta’s 17 Premier League goals in 2024 are the most by a Palace player in a calendar year.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Both of these teams have made a poor start to the Premier League season, with Wolves second-bottom of the table and Crystal Palace in 17th after nine matches.

The hosts are one of three teams in the division that are yet to have won a league games this season (D2 L7), though did end a six-match losing run with a 2-2 draw away to Brighton last week.

Wolves are the only team who have not picked up a single point at home this season, while their Molineux losing streak goes back five matches to their previous meeting with Crystal Palace (11 May 2024).

Crystal Palace are yet to win on the road in the league (D1 L3), with their last away win incidentally being their 3-1 reversal of Wolves at Molineux.

Oliver Glasner's side did pick up their first win of the season (D3 L5) last weekend, beating Tottenham 1-0 at home to put them on six points after nine matches.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves - 38.6%

Draw - 27%

Crystal Palace - 34.4%

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will not be pressured into making a decision on his long-term future at the Etihad Stadium.

The 53-year-old's contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season and he is, as yet, undecided on what he wants to do when that time comes.

City take on Wolves this weekend, and sit second in the Premier League after going unbeaten through their first seven games. They are just one point behind league leaders Liverpool.

"When it's going to happen, it's going to happen," Guardiola told BBC Sport, when asked if any decision on his future from the end of the season onwards had been made.

Guardiola had been heavily linked with the previously vacant England position, before it was announced this week that Thomas Tuchel will take over in January.

But even after that announcement, there have been rumours that Guardiola could follow the lead of director of football and close friend Txiki Begiristain, who has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season.

"One of the reasons I extended my contract two times is because Txiki is here," Guardiola said of Begiristain.

"We work together incredibly well. When we win, we try to analyse why. When we lose we try to analyse why. We don’t judge the other one. We both work for the best for this club.

"That’s why it’s a joy to work here with people like Txiki."

Sunday's hosts Wolves, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from their 5-3 defeat at Brentford in their last match before the international break.

That was a result that left the club bottom of the Premier League with just one point after seven matches.

After the match, head coach Gary O'Neil spoke about it being the "worst game I've been involved with as a coach".

"It’s the furthest I’ve seen the group from what we wanted to look like," he told BBC Match of the Day.

"The responsibility is on me. Of course, the players are going to make decisions, but I need to give them something that makes them make better decisions.

"I’ll do the best I can with the group I have. The club do what they can do off the pitch. My responsibility is to find results. This league can be tough. There are no hiding places."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves – Matheus Cunha

Cunha is Wolves' top scorer, having netted three league goals so far this term. He ranks 16th in the Premier League for xG overperformance, with his three goals coming from just 1.06 xG.

The 25-year-old has also taken the ninth-most shots (21) of any player in the Premier League this term, while two of his three goals have come against teams currently in the top five of the table (Aston Villa and Chelsea).

Manchester City – Erling Haaland

Haaland is the quickest player of all time to reach 10 Premier League goals, having done so in just five matches. He is also the biggest xG overperformer in the Premier League in 2024-25, with his 10 goals coming from 6.5 xG.

The Norwegian striker has scored eight goals in total against Wolves, including four in their most recent meeting in May, at an average of one goal every 40 minutes.

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN

City enter matchday eight as one of just two Premier League teams (alongside Arsenal) who still have an unbeaten record this season (W5 D2). In their last match before the international break, City beat Fulham 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium following back-to-back draws.

That start to the season puts City in second place, one point behind league leaders Liverpool, while Wolves are bottom of the table after taking just one point from their opening seven matches.

It is the first time since 2003-04 that Wolves have failed to win any of their opening seven league games, while they have only had three longer winless runs at the start of a league season: 1922-23 (eight), 1926-27 (10) and 1983-84 (14).

City won the last Premier League meeting between the two clubs, beating Wolves 5-1 at the Etihad in May with the aforementioned Haaland scoring four goals.

That was one of seven victories for City in their last eight Premier League meetings with Wolves, although the hosts did win 2-1 in this exact fixture last September.

Wolves have also scored in eight of their nine matches in all competitions this campaign, while City have fallen behind in four of their six Premier League games this season – as many times as in their previous 19 – and have recovered a league-high 10 points from losing positions.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves – 13.3%

Draw – 17.9%

Manchester City – 68.8%

Wolves earned their first point of the Premier League season following a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Chris Wood's towering header was cancelled out by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's stunning strike as the spoils were shared at the City Ground.

The hosts took the lead in the 10th minute as Wood rose to nod home from Elliot Anderson's corner.

However, the visitors were level just two minutes later in spectacular fashion, with Bellegarde firing a stunning long-range volley into the roof of the net.

Gary O'Neil's side had Sam Johnstone to thank after the break, with the debutant producing a strong hand to deny Wood his second goal of the game.

Matheus Cunha curled a shot just wide while the offside flag denied Wood later on, with Forest unable to snatch victory but extending their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Data Debrief: Wolves end losing streak while Wood matches Collymore

After opening the season with two defeats and eight goals conceded, Wolves stopped the rot with a welcome point against their Midlands rivals, while ending a five-game Premier League losing streak in the process.

Meanwhile, Forest remain unbeaten in their opening three games of a top-flight season for the first time since 1995-96.

Heading his side into the lead, Wood became only the second Forest player to score in both their first two home matches in a Premier League season since Stan Collymore 30 years previously. 

Crystal Palace continued their impressive form as goals from Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze gave the Eagles a 3-1 victory over Wolves at Molineux. 

Olise broke the deadlock with a curling strike after 26 minutes before Mateta grabbed a second just three minutes later to set Palace on the route to victory. 

Matheus Cunha pulled a goal back for the hosts, but Eze restored their two-goal cushion with 17 minutes remaining, and they hung on despite Naouirou Ahamada receiving a second yellow card late on.

Wolves drop to 13th with defeat as Palace leapfrog them on goal difference into 12th position in the Premier League table, having enjoyed a resurgence under new boss Oliver Glasner.

With both sides tucked safely in mid-table, it was – perhaps unsurprisingly – something of a slow burner at Molineux.

Max Kilman headed over for Wolves early on, before Mateta intercepted a pass and slid in Eze for a shot on goal, which he could not direct on target.

Olise spurned another good opportunity when he shot wide at the back post from Mateta's cross, but he then opened the scoring with a delightful left-footed curling strike, which was perfectly placed beyond the stretching arm of Dan Bentley.

The in-form Mateta then swiftly doubled Palace's advantage with a close-range finish after Nathaniel Clyne had struck the post following excellent work from Olise.

Wolves nearly responded before half-time when Matt Doherty rattled the crossbar with a header from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross, then Cunha forced Dean Henderson into a smart save after the interval.

Cunha managed to halve the deficit with 66 minutes played, however, firing into the roof of the net with a VAR check awarding the goal after Hwang Hee-chan was flagged offside.  

Clyne then made an important interception to deny Hwang an almost certain goal before Olise split the Wolves defence to find Eze, who rounded the goalkeeper and tapped in Palace's third. 

They held on despite Ahamanda being sent off late on, receiving his second booking for a rash lunge on Cunha. Referee Thomas Bramall originally pointed to the penalty spot but after a VAR review, the decision was overturned and a free-kick awarded outside the area.

Wolves lack solid foundations

After a positive first half of the season which saw them on the cusp of a potential European place, Wolves’ final home match of the season ended in defeat and Gary O’Neil’s side are now destined to finish in the bottom half of the table. 

Their recent slide has seen them win just once in their last nine matches.

Wolves' defence has let them down lately – only Sheffield United, Luton Town and West Ham have conceded more goals in their last 15 Premier League games – but losing Jose Sa in the build-up to illness did not help here. 

Bentley though could do little to stop any of the Palace goals as the game quickly got away from Wolves in the first half.

Eagles continue to fly

Glasner will be delighted that his side could follow up Monday's 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United with just a second away victory in 13 matches. 

Palace extend their unbeaten run to six games, with the front three of Olise, Mateta and Eze once again excellent and at the forefront of this win. 

A victory on the final day at home to Aston Villa could reward the Eagles with a top-half finish after a campaign which threatened to see them in a relegation scrap. 

The only downside to this win was a first-half injury to Will Hughes, which Glasner will be hoping is nothing serious. 

Brazil coach Dorival Junior announced his 23-man squad for the upcoming Copa America, with Casemiro one of the big names missing out on a place.

The Manchester United midfielder, who has 75 caps for Brazil, has struggled in a difficult season and was omitted from the squad along with Tottenham forward Richarlison, Selecao’s top-scorer at the 2022 World Cup.

17-year-old Endrick, who is due to join Real Madrid in July, is in the squad after scoring two goals in four appearances since his debut for Brazil last year.

He became the youngest male player to score an international goal at Wembley when he netted the winner against England in March.

While announcing the squad, Dorival Junior explained the reason for Casemiro’s exclusion.

He said: "He deserves every respect from us all. I had a chat with him in Manchester about three months ago. I explained what I thought about his moment, his team, and what I needed.

"It doesn't mean that because he's not coming this time, that he is or will be ruled out, in the future in any sense.

"He knows very well what I think about him, and that's the main thing. Tomorrow, I'll make contact with Casemiro calmly, naturally putting forward what I believe could happen in the future, not least because he's a player who deserves consideration, affection, respect and that we continue to believe in a player of this calibre." 

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, United winger Antony and Matheus Cunha, who plays for Wolves, are other notable absentees.

Top-scorer Neymar is also not included as he continues his recovery from a knee ligament injury he sustained playing for Brazil last October.

Asked how Brazil would cope without their star striker, Dorival Junior was quick to praise Endrick but insisted that he did not want to put pressure on any one player.

"Endrick played a starring role in a great achievement for his club a few months ago, he played very well in the national team's friendlies, he's maintained his level, and he can still improve a lot. I hope that happens with him here. That he feels more and more comfortable," said Dorival Junior.

"In general, I think we need multiple protagonists and not just a single protagonist. I believe that the division of responsibilities will make our team grow and improve even more.

"It's important to have players of this calibre together. In the near future, God willing, we'll also have the presence of Neymar.

"But until then, we have to make sure, within the squad itself, that everyone's responsibilities are recognised and, above all, that everyone is integrated and doing their best so that the division of responsibilities reduces this obligation to always have a single protagonist at the national team."

The Copa America will take place in the United States from June 20 to July 14, with Brazil starting against Costa Rica at the SoFi Stadium on June 24.

Brazil squad

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Atletico PR), Ederson (Manchester City)

Defenders: Beraldo (PSG), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel (Arsenal), Marquinhos (PSG), Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Girona), Guilherme Arana (Atletico MG), Wendell (Porto)

Midfielders: Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Joao Gomes (Wolves), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham)

Forwards: Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Savinho (Girona), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City's players cannot dine out on their past achievements and must prove themselves all over again in their last four games of the Premier League season, starting against Wolves on Saturday. 

The title race remains in City's hands despite Arsenal leading the way by a single point, with Guardiola's men possessing a game in hand as they chase a fourth successive crown.

After welcoming Wolves to the Etihad Stadium, they face back-to-back trips to London to take on Fulham and Tottenham, then host West Ham on the final day.

Guardiola says City – who should have Ederson, Ruben Dias and Phil Foden back on Saturday – cannot assume this title rice will go the same way as others. 

"We have to prove it tomorrow against Wolves and then in the next games," Guardiola said.

"We know we have to win and get all 12 points, otherwise it will be difficult because Arsenal are so strong and so consistent. It's difficult to drop points.

"It depends on us. It's just tomorrow and then three games in one week, no more complicated than that to analyse.

"I would love to say what we have done in the past is going to happen this season, but nobody knows."

Wolves, meanwhile, are still eyeing a top-half finish after halting a six-game winless run by beating struggling Luton Town 2-1 at Molineux last week, with goals from Hwang Hee-chan and Toti Gomes.

A spate of injuries saw their European hopes slip away, but with Pedro Neto back in full training alongside Hwang and Matheus Cunha, they could start with their first-choice front three for the first time since October.

Boss Gary O'Neil, who will serve a one-match touchline ban on Saturday, said: "To have all the senior players back and the group starting to look stronger again takes me back to October and how we felt at that moment. 

"So we're looking forward to seeing them all back together."  

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne has started six Premier League matches against Wolves, recording five goals and five assists against them, though nine of those involvements came at Molineux (five goals, four assists).

The Belgian also laid on two assists against Nottingham Forest last week to move to 110 overall in the Premier League – just one behind second-placed Cesc Fabregas in the all-time rankings.

Wolves – Hwang Hee-chan

Hwang scored 10 Premier League goals before the turn of the year, then went exactly four months without a goal due to international duty and injuries before netting against Luton last week. 

Both he and Cunha have 11 Premier League goals this season, and there have only been three previous instances of a player netting more for the club in a single campaign – Steven Fletcher in 2011-12 (12) and Raul Jimenez in both 2018-19 (13) and 2019-20 (17).

MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN

Wolves inflicted City's first defeat of the Premier League season back in September, and they now have the chance to complete just their second top-flight double over them since 1960-61, having previously achieved the feat in 2019-20.

However, City are in ominous form, going unbeaten through their last 19 Premier League games (15 wins, four draws). 

They have already enjoyed four unbeaten runs of 20 or more matches in the competition – three of them under Guardiola – and could become just the second team to achieve the feat five times (Manchester United have done so seven times).

All five of Wolves' away Premier League wins this term have either been against either teams starting the day in the relegation zone (two) or versus London clubs (three). 

They have lost 18 of their 20 Premier League away games against sides starting the day inside the top two, winning the others at Tottenham (in December 2018) and City (October 2019). The champions have no margin for error, and a slip-up from them looks unlikely at this stage.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Manchester City – 71.2%

Wolves – 9.6%

Draw – 19.2% 

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.

Matheus Cunha’s hat-trick helped Wolves claim a 4-2 comeback victory at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were booed off by home fans at the end of a second loss in four days, whilst the name of former owner Roman Abramovich could be heard ringing around the ground.

Cole Palmer’s goal had seemed to have his side on their way to a fifth home league win in a row when he slotted in after 19 minutes.

Thereafter however, Gary O’Neil’s team dictated everything, with Cunha leading the way, although Chelsea will deem themselves unfortunate to have conceded from two big deflections in the first half, one of which was given as an own goal against Axel Disasi.

Thiago Silva headed a consolation near the end before home supporters let the depth of their anger be known.

The sides exchanged half-chances during the opening 15 minutes, Cunha and Pedro Neto drawing decent saves from Djordje Petrovic in Chelsea’s goal, whilst at the other end Palmer saw a left-footed shot deflect wide from outside the box and Christopher Nkunku was blocked by Jose Sa as he ran through on goal.

The game needed a spark of inspiration, and it came from Moises Caicedo. Chelsea’s record signing collected the ball centrally midway inside the Wolves half and with slid-rule precision found the run of Palmer. Caicedo’s pass did the hard part for him, and Chelsea’s top scorer placed it first-time into the corner with a cool flick of the boot.

It was a worthy assist, but the Ecuadorean undid his good work almost instantly. It was he who dallied on the ball in midfield, gifting it back to Wolves. From there, the visitors broke forward, working it up to Cunha who cut in onto his right and hit a shot that deflected off Silva and in as Petrovic scrambled to recover.

Chelsea laboured to impose themselves but O’Neil’s side had been the better team on the ball throughout the half, despite the hosts’ superior possession statistics. Wolves moved the ball with more intent, their attacking players making the more inventive runs. Chelsea by contrast, save for Caicedo’s moment of magic, were running into walls.

The pattern of the half was encapsulated by the goal that put Wolves in front. One ball from Nelson Semedo released Neto down the right, who carried it and crossed low. Chelsea were unfortunate to suffer another critical deflection as Rayan Ait Nouri’s shot bounced off Disasi and in, rounding off an efficient, clinical Wolves counter.

Chelsea supporters near the dugout were angry with their team’s slow pace and a perceived lack of fight, making their feelings known at half-time in a furious chorus of boos. But things were only to get worse.

Raheem Sterling dragged wide from Ben Chilwell’s clever cut-back at the start of the second half as Pochettino’s side sought a response. At the other end, frustrations spread from the crowd to the pitch as Caicedo gave away two free-kicks in as many minutes on the edge of his own box, the second earning him a booking.

Wolves’ third goal came from more crisp, incisive counter-attacking. Enzo Fernandez tried to cut out Semedo’s ball down the line but helped it only into the path of Neto, who ran it deep into the box and laid off for Cunha to batter it past Petkovic. Cue another rally of bitter discontent from home supporters.

Malo Gusto’s foul handed Cunha the chance to seal his hat-trick from the penalty spot, an opportunity he took with a neat finish into the corner.

Thiago Silva’s late headed consolation could not take the sheen off a stunning Wolves win.

Goalscorer Matheus Cunha admitted it was difficult to watch the violent scenes that marred Wolves’ FA Cup win at West Brom unfold.

Cunha had just scored what proved Wolves’ decisive second goal in their 2-0 win at the Hawthorns on Sunday when trouble broke out in the stands.

The ugly disturbances that followed led to a delay of more than half an hour before the game could be restarted and the final 12 minutes played.

Police confirmed arrests were made and one person was taken to hospital with head injuries.

Brazilian Cunha told the club’s official website: “It was hard because you see children cry and things like that. You never want something like this.

“It was a little more calm to go to the dressing room and take a little bit of time.

“The most important thing is everyone is safe. The guy we saw some photos of, I hope he gets well.”

In terms of the match itself, Premier League Wolves had coped well with the fiery atmosphere inside the ground.

Their Sky Bet Championship rivals took the game to them early on, but failed to take their opportunities and were punished by Pedro Neto before the break.

The Baggies responded but Cunha wrapped up a first Wolves win at the ground since 1996 soon after Brandon Thomas-Asante had scooped a good chance to equalise over the bar.

Gary O’Neil’s side will now host Brighton in the fifth round.

Cunha said: “It was not only me that put our name in history. All the team did. I’m very proud of the guys, they played incredibly well.

“It was 2-0, another clean sheet. Neto scored, I scored. We need to enjoy that and keep on winning.

“I’m incredibly happy here. I love this team, I love the city. We need to keep going.”

Roberto De Zerbi admitted depleted Brighton are dropping too many Premier League points following a frustrating goalless stalemate with Wolves.

Albion dominated possession at the Amex Stadium as they stretched their unbeaten home run to a club-record nine top-flight fixtures to climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference.

But the Seagulls, who lacked a cutting edge on Monday evening, have drawn five of those fixtures and a league-high eight matches overall.

Brighton boss De Zerbi feels a lengthy injury list and European commitments are impacting his side’s league results.

“We have to understand the situation of injuries, we have to understand how much energy we spent in the Europa League, in FA Cup, we have to analyse if we will be lucky or unlucky,” said the Italian, whose side drew 0-0 with West Ham in their previous game.

“In the last two games in the Premier League we have been unlucky because two points after two games with good quality to win the game, we are losing too many points.

“We have been unlucky because five draws (at home), for example Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham and Wolverhampton, we deserved to win all of the games.

“We didn’t play the best game in my time (tonight) but we created a condition to win the game.

“Yes, we made some mistakes in the crucial part of the pitch and for it we didn’t win.”

Brighton controlled the play against Wolves but rarely threatened.

Facundo Buonanotte saw an early diving header cleared off the line by Tommy Doyle, while Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal.

De Zerbi remains without the creative talents of Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Ansu Fati, Solly March and Julio Enciso but dismissed talk of recruiting reinforcements this month.

“No, transfer market is not my business,” he said.

“I have to be focused on my work and my work is to give organisation, to give a style, to try the condition to play well and make points.

“We are seventh place on the table and if you consider how many problems we had in the first part of the season we have to be proud because we are playing better than the situation we are enduring.”

Wolves were thrashed 6-0 in this fixture last season but could have snatched victory.

Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina each went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

In the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, Neto played as a central striker on the south coast on his first start since October.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was impressed with the impact of the Portugal forward but hopes to bolster his striking options during the transfer window.

“We always had that threat,” said O’Neil. “Pedro was good, probably played a little bit longer than we would have liked ideally.

“I just felt there was still a goal in him so tried to push him a little bit more than was ideal but pleased that he got through it.

“Hopefully over the next few days we can do something in the window that can help us in that area.

“Until then we work hard to try and maximise what we have in the room and I felt we did that well today.

“The main thing was we looked like a team, we stuck together and when it got tough in certain situations we looked like we could cope and always had that threat.”

Brighton failed to score at home for the first time in 23 matches as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Wolves at the Amex Stadium.

Albion dominated possession in a tetchy Premier League contest but lacked a cutting edge in attack.

Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal early in the second half, while Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

A largely forgettable encounter was at least memorable for Seagulls midfielder James Milner, whose 633rd Premier League appearance lifted him clear of Ryan Giggs on the competition’s all-time list, behind only record holder Gareth Barry.

Brighton climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference, courtesy of the stalemate, while Wolves move level on points with 10th-placed Newcastle.

Albion won this fixture 6-0 last season – their biggest Premier League victory and Wolves’ heaviest loss.

Danny Welbeck was one of three players to score twice that day and he threatened to inflict to more misery on Wanderers during a bright beginning for the hosts.

After forcing a corner with a deflected shot off Matt Doherty, the former England forward climbed high to flick on Pervis Estupinan’s 11th-minute delivery, only for Facundo Buonanotte’s back-post diving header to be hacked off the line by Tommy Doyle.

Wolves were just about managing to contain the lively hosts and almost snatched a 22nd-minute lead.

Portugal forward Neto, making his first start since October in the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, was afforded time and space on the edge of the Seagulls’ 18-yard box but his curling effort flew narrowly wide of the left post.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was left frustrated on the half-hour mark when Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour escaped punishment after cynically halting Cunha’s off-the-ball run as Neto broke down the left.

Tempers then threatened to boil over on the touchline during a flashpoint sparked by a clash between Gilmour and Wolves defender Craig Dawson, which led to the visitors’ goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler being booked by referee Craig Pawson.

The fractious ending to a tight opening period persisted with Cunha receiving a yellow card for a challenge on Gilmour and then confronting the officials following the half-time whistle.

Brazil forward Cunha almost channelled his sense of injustice into the opening goal within seconds of the restart but his initial effort was repelled by Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele before he poked over the rebound.

Wolves skipper Kilman then diverted the ball on to the base of his own right post as he slid in to intercept Jack Hinshelwood’s cross before Neto was denied by Steele as the end-to-end action continued.

In-form Wolves were seeking to register four successive top-flight wins for the first time since January 1972 and looked the more likely to break the deadlock in the closing stages.

Neto flashed across goal before the onrushing Steele was fortunate to escape being rounded by Cunha and then kept out a powerful drive from Lemina.

Boss Gary O’Neil insisted Wolves must maintain their focus after booking an FA Cup Black Country derby against West Brom.

Matheus Cunha’s penalty saw off Brentford 3-2 after extra time on Tuesday and sent Wolves into the fourth round.

Nelson Semedo and Nathan Fraser twice hit back for the hosts after goals from Nathan Collins and Neal Maupay in an entertaining replay.

Wolves now go to The Hawthorns on January 28 for the first Black Country derby in three years – and first with fans in attendance since 2012.

“As soon as we walked off I was thinking about Brighton (in the Premier League). I understand fans will be excited, it will be a big atmosphere, it hasn’t been played with fans for a while,” O’Neil said.

“I can’t wait to lead the team down there and see if we can progress again. There’s a Premier League game coming up and I have a very small tired group to do some work with before we go to Brighton.

“I have mixed feelings about the performance but I’m delighted with the win. The lads have worked unbelievably hard over the two ties. We’ve talked about taking the FA Cup seriously, we went down to 10 men at Brentford and tonight got a bit awkward for us.

“The players deserve credit for how they have approached the whole tie. We gave Brentford a bit of a lift by giving them two crazy goals.”

Collins, who joined Brentford from Wolves for £23million in the summer, opened the scoring after 13 minutes when he prodded in after Kristoffer Ajer’s shot was saved.

Semedo and Pablo Sarabia went close before Semedo levelled after 36 minutes when he tapped in after Thomas Strakosha saved his initial header.

Back came Brentford, though, and Maupay restored their lead six minutes into the second half after a VAR check for offside.

Yet Wolves equalised again with 17 minutes left, Fraser drilling into the corner three minutes after coming on.

It set up extra time and Shandon Baptiste had a shot turned on to the post by Jose Sa before Cunha won it in stoppage time of the first period when Pedro Neto was tripped in the box.

Brentford will now have Ivan Toney available when his eight-month suspension for betting breaches ends on Wednesday.

Boss Thomas Frank said: “It’s massive, no doubt. It’s like signing a Premier League striker who can score 20 goals because he’s proved it.

“Every team would be happy to sign a quality player like him. Ivan is a top player but he’s also very good at making the whole team better.

“Tonight we did a lot of things right. The first half was a bit direct from our side. I was very pleased with the second half and in extra time. In general we put a lot of effort into the game and we could have won.

“The game was decided by a penalty which, in my opinion, is not there. Ben (Mee) clearly hit the ball into Neto’s feet. It’s difficult to make a call but unfortunately I can’t alter that.”