It’s Mac the strife then Seagulls rife
HIT AND MISS ALEXIS HAS POTTER EYEING TOP TEN
BRIGHTON created their own piece of Premier League history as Wolves’ ambitions of European football took a big hit.
The Seagulls overhauled their best-ever return with this deserved win which now makes it 44 record-breaking points and the chance of a top-ten finish.
Manager Graham Potter said: “I am very proud of the players and there are still nine points to play for.
“The Premier League is not easy and at times you have to suffer. We’ve stayed strong and now we want to finish as high as we can.
“We’ve had some good away days winning at Arsenal and Spurs and drawing at Liverpool. This one was up there.”
They had to smash their penalty jinx to confirm a maximum at Molineux, Alexis Mac Allister squandering the first opportunity from 12 yards – the club’s third successive miss – before atoning from the second awarded eight minutes later by referee Simon Hooper.
The Argentine had to fend off a clutch of team-mates anxious to take their chance from the spot and his confidence was rewarded with the 42nd-minute opener. Potter (below) added: “There was a lot of pressure on him but he stood up to it.”
Brighton dominated after the break and were rewarded with a coolly-taken goal from the impressive Leandro Trossard and a clinical finish from Yves Bissouma which condemned Bruno Lage’s side to their heaviest defeat of the season.
The urge to chase history saw the Seagulls race out of the traps – with Wolves struggling to get out of first gear.
The first penalty was awarded after a VAR check on Romain Saiss’ block of Solly March’s cross – but Mac Allister hit the post.
When Trossard forced Jose Sa into a save with his foot skipper Conor Coady blew his top, gesticulating to his dazed team-mates.
Wolves did not heed the wake-up call and three minutes before the break
We have stayed strong and now we want to finish as high as we can with nine points still to play for. I’m so proud of the players
Willy Boly brought down Danny Welbeck in the area – and this time Mac Allister buried it.
At half-time Lage introduced Raul Jimenez and Pedro Neto for Fabio Silva, who still has not scored this season, and Ruben Neves, whose early return was confined to 45 minutes.
Lage said: “It’s hard to talk about this game. We watched Brighton for 90 minutes.
“I don’t understand why because we have a lot of things to got for like European football and we come up with a performance like that. It’s our worst of the season.”
There was no improvement in the second-half and Brighton cashed in, Trossard taking Welbeck’s pass and twisting into the area before firing past Sa.
And then a powerful low shot from Bissouma made it 3-0.
Neto was denied a Wolves consolation when his addedtime shot hit the post.