Wolves edge further clear of Premier League relegation zone after Everton draw

Marshall Munetsi’s first-half equaliser helped Wolves move six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone following a 1-1 draw with Everton at Molineux.

Ipswich’s late defeat at Crystal Palace handed the opportunity over for Wolves to open up a further gap to the bottom three and Munetsi’s first goal for the club earned Vitor Pereira’s side a vital point in their quest for survival.

The goal came seven minutes after Everton went in front through Jack Harrison’s first goal since February 2024 as David Moyes’ side extended their unbeaten run to eight matches.

With Matheus Cunha missing for the hosts and Iliman Ndiaye injured for Everton, both teams were missing key components in attack and it was evident with the lack of quality in the final third during the second period.

The two goalkeepers were not the busiest throughout the evening, but Jordan Pickford did well to deny Jorgen Strand Larsen and Jose Sa kept out Beto with Everton’s best chance of the half as both sides settled for a point.

It took Everton a quarter of an hour to settle into the contest and they almost opened the scoring as the ball fell kindly Abdoulaye Doucoure inside the penalty area, but his goalbound effort ricocheted behind for a corner which Jarrad Branthwaite then almost got on the end of.

Wolves also decided to show their ambition of winning the game. The Toffees had Pickford to thank for not going a goal down when he scrambled across to keep Munetsi’s header from going in with his legs following a corner.

Everton – in fine form since Moyes’ return as boss – struck in the 33rd minute to go ahead.

Emmanuel Agbadou’s intended clearance gifted possession straight back to Everton and Jesper Lindstrom had all the time in the world to pick out Harrison, who fired beyond Sa with the help of a deflection off Matt Doherty.

The visitors were behind for only seven minutes before they were on level terms.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was proving to be a menace on the wing as he drifted infield and threaded a pass to Munetsi, which Branthwaite failed to deal with before the Zimbabwean expertly dispatched to open his account.

Certain parts of Molineux thought Wolves had taken the lead, but Pablo Sarabia’s free-kick curled into the wrong side of the netting just after the break.

It was Wolves who were beginning to force the issue as the clock ticked into the final 20 minutes, Strand Larsen blasting straight at Pickford from a tight angle to keep the scores level.

Everton almost punished the hosts with a devastating counter attack when Charly Alcaraz burst through the middle of the park and slid through to Beto, but he was denied by the diving Sa.