Munetsi edges Wolves closer to safety

Marshall Munetsi scored his first goal for Wolves

Wolves moved six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone after coming from behind to draw against Everton.

Jack Harrison gave the Toffees the lead with his first goal of the season when his deflected strike beat Jose Sa.

Zimbabwe international Marshall Munetsi equalised five minutes before the break with a first-time finish past Jordan Pickford from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's pass to score his first goal for the club.

In a cagey second half with few chances, Jorgen Strand Larsen went closest for the hosts but had his effort from a narrow angle well saved by Pickford.

Beto came closest to finding a winner for Everton but Sa denied the in-form former Udinese striker by palming his low effort away.

The draw means Wolves are six points ahead of Ipswich Town and Leicester City, though the Foxes have a game in hand.

Everton move into 14th, above Manchester United and West Ham on goal difference.

Wolves inch towards survival

After Ipswich's late defeat at Crystal Palace, Wolves knew a win would put them eight points above the relegation zone - a comfortable gap at this stage of the season.

Vitor Pereira's side had picked up a respectable six points from the last 15 available before Everton's trip to Molineux.

By contrast, Leicester had managed three points and Ipswich just one.

That has been the story of the fight for survival in recent weeks, with Wolves crawling towards safety as their rivals fail to apply the sort of pressure that would really test their mettle.

There was no real sense of nerves at Molineux, even when Everton took the lead.

It helped that Wolves found an equaliser within five minutes.

The source of the equaliser was unlikely, with midfielder Munetsi scoring his first goal for the club.

He ghosted through Everton's midfield, before finding space between Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitalii Mykolenko to hit home.

The midfielder's reward for getting his side on level terms was to be hooked at half-time, as he made way for Pablo Sarabia at the break.

Pereira was clearly keen to get more attacking intent in his side as Wolves felt the absence of Matheus Cunha, who watched on from the sidelines as he served the first game of his three-match ban following his red card against Bournemouth.

The Brazilian is Wolves' top scorer this season with 13 goals and only Ait-Nouri (five) has more assists than the four he's managed.

Cunha will miss the trip to bottom-placed Southampton and the visit of West Ham to Molineux in Wolves' next two fixtures.

If Wolves win those two matches they will feel their Premier League safety is assured.

Lindstrom and Harrison answer Moyes' call

Earlier this week, David Moyes called on wingers Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom to up their output in order to stay in his starting XI.

"You won't have longevity if you're not going to get me assists and goals," said Moyes.

"You have to find ways of coming up with those numbers. I think both have done well but I need goals from them, I need assists from them. They both need to improve greatly on that."

Neither player had scored or assisted for the Toffees this season in 54 appearances between them.

Until the trip to Molineux, that is.

Lindstrom, a summer loan signing from Serie A club Napoli, took down James Tarkowski's header and found Harrison with a smart switch of play.

The midfielder, on loan from Leeds United, needed a slice of luck to net his fifth goal for the Toffees, with his left-footed effort deflecting in off Matt Doherty and past Sa.

The Toffees' draw means Everton are unbeaten in eight league matches under Moyes and they have not lost since his first game back at Goodison Park against Aston Villa.

Though they are not mathematically safe, there are 16 points between Everton and 18th-placed Ipswich.

Unlike in previous campaigns when the Toffees' survival has gone down to the wire, fans can start to look up, not down, in the final weeks of the season.