Wolves 0-3 Brighton: Mac Allister, Trossard and Bissouma earn excellent away win
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Alexis Mac Allister found the net with his second penalty of the match
Wolves manager Bruno Lage says he wants players with the "right personality" at the club after seeing the "worst performance" of his tenure in their defeat to an impressive Brighton.
The Portuguese manager, nearing the end of his first season with the club, saw his side register their only shot on target in the 85th minute of a sluggish display on home soil.
Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister missed a penalty before finding the net nine minutes later with a second spot-kick, and excellent finishes from Leandro Trossard and Yves Bissouma after the break formed part of a superb display.
"I need to understand who wants to go to war and continue to put the club at a different level because it's not enough for anyone to relax," said Lage after Wolves' heaviest loss of the season.
"I need to smell it if the guys want to continue to put the club at a different level. We're in eighth position and we try to do better. To improve we need to have a plan and we need to convince the right players with the right personality to increase the level of the team.
"We didn't come to play. We came to watch Brighton play. It was the worst performance since the first day."
Graham Potter's Brighton showed pockets of their vibrant style throughout to create a flow of chances and they have now compiled a gritty run of form, losing just once in six outings - against Manchester City - and picking up 11 points in the process.
They have now reached 44 points - their highest mark since reaching the Premier League in 2017 - and sit ninth, a place below Wolves who have now lost three in a row without scoring.
Brighton back to very best
Potter praises 'very impressive' Brighton
There can be no greater example of Brighton's adventurous approach than the fact Marc Cucurella - the left centre-back in a back three - was powering forward to cross into the box in the build-up to Bissouma's late finish.
Their freedom and ambition proved too much for Wolves, whose fans poured out of the ground in the closing stages.
This was Brighton's biggest league win of the season and they started with intent, with Enock Mwepu twice forcing Wolves keeper Jose Sa into action before the penalty award.
Referee Simon Hooper checked a Roman Saiss' handball in the box on the touchline monitor, only for Mac Allister to miss Brighton's third penalty in a row in 2022.
But Willy Boly's trip on the ever-willing Danny Welbeck gave the Seagulls a second penalty and Mac Allister wrestled the ball off Trossard before whipping home from the spot.
Cucurella was superb - seeing more of the ball than any player and completing 87% of his passes - while Welbeck created three chances for others in a selfless display and 20-year-old Moises Caicedo offered a blend of bite and composure in midfield.
Trossard patiently crafted space to finish after being found by Welbeck for the second, while Bissouma - back from suspension - drove the third from range as Brighton continued to show ambition despite their lead.
Potter's side had lost six in a row from February into March but this win further demonstrates that they have now rediscovered their very best form.
Blunt Wolves need striker options
It was the worst performance since my first day - Lage
Wolves' only significant threat saw substitute Pedro Neto strike the post in the final attack of the day but their fans were rightly frustrated with this latest setback in their bid to finish seventh and possibly qualify for Europe.
The loss of Nelson Semedo to injury on the day was an added frustration, though the return to action of midfielder Ruben Neves after six weeks out with injury was at least a positive.
Lage will surely look to add firepower next term as Raul Jimenez - who came on for the peripheral Fabio Silva at half-time - remains their top scorer on six goals this season. No side has a lower-scoring top scorer in the league.
It is in some ways remarkable Wolves can be sat eighth having scored just 33 goals this term. Only Burnley, Watford and Norwich have fewer. The blunt nature of their attack showed here on a day they must quickly put behind them if they are to finish the season positively.
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