Everton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Dramatic late winner for visitors
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Rayan Ait-Nouri's goal was his first in the Premier League this season
Rayan Ait-Nouri scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Wolves came from behind to win at fellow strugglers Everton and move off the bottom of the Premier League.
A first away victory of the season proved a perfect late Christmas present for Julen Lopetegui, who becomes the first Wolves manager to win his first top-flight match in charge of the club since John Barnwell in 1978.
The visitors made far from an ideal start, falling behind early on when Yerry Mina glanced Dwight McNeil's near-post corner into the net.
However, they levelled midway through the first period from a well-worked corner routine with Daniel Podence calmly sliding the ball past home goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Joao Moutinho's lobbed pass to the back post.
It was no more than the visitors deserved in an entertaining encounter but one in which the attacking shortcomings of both sides came into focus.
Idrissa Gueye's incisive pass to Anthony Gordon should have allowed the hosts to regain the lead but the Everton winger was superbly denied by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa, while Neal Maupay twice failed to capitalise from promising positions.
It was far from from one-way traffic though, Wolves forward Diego Costa was unable to get enough power on a diving header to beat Pickford, who also repelled Hugo Bueno's placed effort after the break.
And while Everton saw Ben Godfrey's late effort hacked to safety by Ruben Neves, Wolves went up the other end in the 95th minute to claim a valuable victory, with Ait-Nouri turning the ball past Pickford from Adama Traore's cross.
The win took Wolves up to 18th, a place below Everton who have now lost their past four games.
Gloomy Goodison
Everton 1-2 Wolves: Lampard says Toffees 'desperately unlucky' to lose
In recent times there has been a distinctly familiar and frustrating feeling among Everton supporters unhappy with a lack of progress on the pitch.
And the sight of a manager under pressure is one that appears to be playing on a loop at Goodison Park, with this defeat met by a chorus of boos.
Frank Lampard's team have now won just one of their past eight top-flight matches and despite temporarily lifting the gloom by establishing an early advantage they never looked fully in control.
In fact, both prior to and after Mina's header, it was Wolves that looked the more capable and fluent side in possession.
There was an certain element of inevitability about the way things unfolded, with Everton, who have the second worst record in front of goal at home in the Premier League, failing to make the most of their chances and then succumbing to a late Wolves counter-attack
Lopetegui lifts the mood
Everton 1-2 Wolves: Julen Lopetegui praises visitors' mentality after victory
While Wolves remain in the relegation places, the manner of their performance and having the resilience to turn a deficit into a win for the first time this season suggests the arrival of Lopetegui has lifted the mood at Molineux.
The Spanish boss spent most of the encounter as a prowling, cajoling presence in the technical area.
Instead of allow himself a moment to celebrate Podence's equaliser, the former Real Madrid manager was already directing his players to refocus their efforts.
Lopetegui's substitutions also proved key, with Traore's run and delivery eventually finding fellow replacement Ait-Nouri to deliver the coup de grace.
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