Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Burnley: Late Jimenez penalty rescues hosts

Raul JimenezImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

Raul Jimenez registered his first Premier League goal of the season against Burnley after scoring five in the Europa League

Raul Jimenez scored a stoppage-time penalty to salvage a point for Wolves and deny Burnley victory at Molineux.

Ashley Barnes looked to have won it for the Clarets after pouncing from around 25 yards - his fourth goal in three Premier League games this season - against a disjointed Wolves side playing their third game inside a week.

The hosts beat Torino in a Europa League play-off match on Thursday after drawing with Manchester United last Monday, and their hectic schedule appeared to have caught up on them as they struggled for long periods.

Burnley were denied a second goal when Rui Patricio produced an excellent save to keep out Chris Wood while Ben Mee headed against the bar with the rebound coming off Wolves defender Ryan Bennett and hitting the post.

However, Wolves were awarded a penalty in the dying moments when Erik Pieters fouled Jimenez.

After a video assistant referee check, Jimenez stepped up to calmly roll the ball past Nick Pope and earn Wolves a third successive Premier League draw.

Late drama saves Wolves after hectic week

This was a big test for Wolves, who are on the cusp of qualifying for the group stage of the Europa League following a 3-2 first-leg victory over Torino in Turin.

Should they complete the job against the Italians in Thursday's second leg, Nuno Espirito Santo's side face a testing schedule of Thursday-Sunday games.

On a hot sunny day in the Black Country against Burnley, they were flat, lacklustre and flaky for long periods, only coming alive in the closing stages.

Having come from behind to take a point off Manchester United before travelling to Italy, Wolves were facing a Burnley side who were refreshed and full of energy after a free week to prepare for the match.

Six Wolves players - Patricio, Conor Coady, Willy Boly, Joao Moutinho, Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota - were making their third starts of the week, and Wolves were a shadow of the side that finished seventh in the Premier League last season.

An early dipping attempt from 25 yards by Ruben Neves was as close as they came to scoring in the first half, but having struggled for the first 80 minutes Wolves did step it up towards the end.

When Jimenez rolled the ball invitingly across the six-yard area, there was no Wolves player to poke it home, while Nick Pope was forced to keep out a deflection off his own player Ben Mee before the late penalty drama.

Encouragement for Burnley despite late twist

Burnley's players were crestfallen at the final whistle - Jimenez' equaliser virtually the last kick of the game.

The Clarets had looked set for a second win of the season after a typically hard-working performance by Sean Dyche's side, and three points would have taken them up to third in the table.

Having peppered Arsenal's goal with 18 shots in the narrow 2-1 defeat at Emirates Stadium last week, they had another 13 attempts at Molineux.

Barnes' early-season form has been a highlight for the Clarets and his cracking finish from distance past the diving Patricio had Burnley's travelling fans in raptures.

Barnes and attacking partner Chris Wood hassled Wolves' defence throughout and it required a fine save by Patricio - after a long kick by Pope - to prevent the visitors from doubling their lead.

It was a critical moment in the game as Wolves went on to snatch a point from the jaws of defeat.

Man of the match - James Tarkowski (Burnley)

Image source, Getty Images
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Tarkowski typified Burnley's resilience as Wolves struggled to carve out chances.

'We have to embrace it' - what they said

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "The boys worked very hard. Burnley are a very good team. The way they do things is so good. They score, they create chances. [Chris] Wood and [Ashley] Barnes hold the ball. It's a physical game they force from us, but the boys did well.

"The patience was about circulating the ball and still having patience and possession. I just told the boys it's the next step we have to take - managing the game when you are tired.

"We are very aware of the cycle that we have. We started competing on the 25 July. We have to embrace it and go again on Thursday."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche, speaking to Match of the Day: "We deserved to win the game. I thought we were out of the box sharp, we mixed the play enough to cause them problems. They didn't cause us too many problems.

"I'm not going to knock the players because their mentality is good. It was just taken away by a late decision.

"We're looking a different animal to last season, which is important at this early stage. There's a real good energy, some good quality and some good moments.

"They hit the post, to be fair, but I don't think they had too much today. Defensively we were very strong."

Six in six starts for Jimenez - the stats

  • Wolves have drawn their first three games of a league campaign for the first time since 1938-39, when they finished second in the top flight.

  • Burnley are winless in their last five away games at Wolves in the top flight (W1 D4), with their last such victory coming in September 1973.

  • Wolves are unbeaten in their last 10 home games in the Premier League (W6 D4); their longest run without defeat in the top flight since April to October 1979 (also 10 games).

  • Burnley have only won one of the last five Premier League away games in which they've scored the opening goal (D3 L1), including none of the last three.

  • Wolves' equaliser in the 97th minute was just their second shot on target in the game, with their first coming in the 87th minute.

  • Wolves striker Raul Jimenez has scored six goals in six starts in all competitions this season, however this was his first in the Premier League this season.

  • Only Sergio Aguero (16) and Sadio Mane (15) have scored more Premier League goals than Burnley's Ashley Barnes (13) in 2019.

  • Jimenez' goal for Wolves after 96 minutes and 55 seconds was the latest scored in the Premier League since January 2017, when Alexis Sanchez netted after 97 minutes and 14 seconds for Arsenal against Burnley.

  • Burnley midfielder Dwight McNeil has made six assists in the Premier League in 2019 - the only English player with more in this period is Trent Alexander-Arnold (11).

What's next?

The games keep coming at a rapid rate for Wolves who take a 3-2 lead into Thursday's Europa League play-off second leg against Torino at Molineux (19:45 BST).

Burnley are also in midweek cup action - against Sunderland in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

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