Allan Saint-Maximin scored an incredible 90th-minute volley to rescue a point as Newcastle extended their unbeaten start to four matches with a 1-1 against Wolves at Molineux on Sunday afternoon.
Wolves and Newcastle played out an exciting 1-1 draw at Molineux on Sunday, thanks to spectacular goals from Ruben Neves and Allan Saint-Maximin. Newcastle looked toothless in both passing and finishing throughout the afternoon, owing to the injuries to the trio of Jonjo Shelvey, Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson.
After an even start, where both sides went toe-to-toe in a high-tempo first half, Joe Willock got the first opening of the game, which was in truth a sitter with a gaping goal in front of him, but he somehow managed to drag that one wide.
A trademark shot from outside of the box from Ruben Neves then broke the deadlock in the 38th minute, blasting a long-range drive between Willock’s legs and into the net to round off a fantastic play from one flank to the other by Pedro Neto.
Newcastle had the lion’s share of possession, with the ball consistently in the Wolves end, but struggled to create anything of note to threaten Jose Sa’s goal. The Magpies’ coach, Eddie Howe, then made a flurry of substitutions to wrestle back control of the game midway through the second half, and Newcastle almost camped outside Wolves’ goal thereafter.
FULL-TIME Wolves 1-1 Newcastle
The points are shared after an incredible goal late on from Allan Saint-Maximin #WOLNEW pic.twitter.com/N4beLXJhTR
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 28, 2022
However, against the run of play, Wolves had gone 2-0 up in the game when Raul Jimenez found the net in the 81st minute, but Pedro Neto was deemed to have committed a foul in the build-up. The game then became very scruffy, stop-and-start and looked to be slipping away from Newcastle’s reach. But Allan Saint-Maximin had other ideas, as he hit a beautifully struck volley in the 90th minute to restore parity.
The Magpies nearly grabbed a late winner when substitute Elliot Anderson hit the bar with a close-range header before defender Fabian Schar put his fizzing free-kick narrowly wide as Wolves keeper Sa had a sigh of relief. It was a pulsating end to the game, and the Hard Tackle will now run over Eddie Howe’s men.
Nick Pope: 7/10
Keeping aside a couple of nervy moments here and there, Pope did not have much to do between the sticks as most of Wolves’ shots were either blasted over or straight at him. Made a couple of routine saves. Could not have done anything about Ruben Neves’s wonder strike, and dealt with a few awkward balls into the box with confident catches and aggressively coming off his line to clear when needed. A solid outing.
Kieran Trippier: 7/10
Another solid performance by Newcastle United’s stand-in captain. He was left a bit exposed having to deal with the trickery of Pedro Neto, but he handled it quite smartly. In the absence of Bruno Guimaraes, the England star tucked inside and played a lot of long balls and switches of play. Delivered dangerous crosses from both open play and set pieces. Most importantly, he kept the team organised in crucial moments. A true captain’s display as he led by example.
Fabian Schar: 7/10
A yellow card tackle on Pedro Neto nearly turned into a red card following a VAR review, but Schar got lucky. Otherwise, it was a pretty solid display from the Swiss international, who was instrumental in the Magpies’ build-up play, completing three key passes and attempting 14 long balls. Could have won it very late on with his surprising free-kick narrowly wide.
Sven Botman: 7.5/10
Botman started slowly as a couple of Wolves attacks caused him problems, but improved vastly as the game went on. He stood up to the challenge of facing Raul Jimenez and marshalled the Mexican throughout the game. The silky Dutchman was really composed and precise with the ball at his feet.
He was calm, collected, playing the ball around nicely, and his ability to break opposition lines for fun makes such a big difference. The talented centre-back is really a “Rolls Royce” defender.
Dan Burn: 4/10
Not his best afternoon. Asked to do a job at left-back once again, his lack of dynamism was apparent as he did not make any overlapping runs, which left Saint-Maximin very isolated down the left. He was still able to frustrate Wolves at times by extinguishing their attacks prior to his exit around the hour mark.
Sean Longstaff: 6/10
Yes, Newcastle should have had a penalty against Wolves after Longstaff was dragged down in the box pic.twitter.com/vvE6tKttOc
— Has the Referee or VAR made a poor decision? (@PoorEPLreferees) August 28, 2022
Asked to step in for Guimaraes, Longstaff struggled with the tempo of the game early on in what was his first Premier League start of the season. He should have been awarded a penalty after being pulled back inside the penalty area and produced a couple of vital defensive blocks to prevent a Wolves counterattack in the first half. He looked a tad rusty as well, which hampered Newcastle’s ball movement.
Joelinton: 7/10
Joelinton was Newcastle’s best midfielder on the pitch, which is quite ironic in itself given he was a forward until last season. Nonetheless, he battled away in the middle of the park and was involved in a lot of midfield tussles. He put in several snappy tackles, ran his socks off to cover for his compatriot Guimaraes’ absence, and also made some marauding forward runs to drive Newcastle up the pitch.
Joe Willock: 6/10
Willock has had better afternoons than the one at Molineux. He could not find the back of the net from close range early on after the ball landed kindly to him inside the penalty area. For the second game in a row, a shot sailed between his legs that almost cost Newcastle dearly. Had his good moments but should have closed down Neves a bit earlier.
Miguel Almiron: 6/10
Almiron’s spirit and determination were admirable, but the end product was severely lacking. As customary, he did some excellent work on and off the ball, offering himself as a passing option to teammates all over the pitch and trying to make things happen in the final third.
But as soon as he gets in and around the penalty area or bursts past a couple of defenders, he more often than not makes the wrong decision or cuts onto his favoured foot and the chance is gone.
Chris Wood: 4/10
Newcastle struggled to find the back of the net without star striker Callum Wilson, and deputy Wood put on a poor display that saw the Kiwi brought off midway through the second half for Ryan Fraser, with Allan Saint-Maximin put up front.
During this time, the former Burnley man had just one blocked shot on target and had no other attempts whatsoever. His poor movement was slowing the visitors’ attacks down, while he also did not try a single dribble during the whole game.
Wood’s biggest attribute that stands out is his gigantic aerial presence, but despite being 6ft 3in, he only attempted two aerial duels, winning just one. With Newcastle sending so many crosses into the box, he should be taking action. Tellingly, the Magpies played better after his substitution.
Allan Saint-Maximin: 8.5/10
Masterclass after masterclass!
Allan Saint-Maximin deserves a look for that France call-up ??? pic.twitter.com/aaOeWAcXI4
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 28, 2022
Saint-Maximin was not as electrifying as last weekend against Manchester City owing to Wolves’ tight marking, but remained a threat and tested the hosts throughout the game. As the game looked to have gone out of Newcastle’s hands, the Magpies’ talisman delivered the goods when it mattered the most, unleashing an absolutely outrageous volley to bag his first goal of the season. A potential goal of the season contender already.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Ryan Fraser: 7/10
Fraser played his part in Newcastle’s comeback as he got at a tired Wolves defence that struggled to deal with his explosiveness and evasive nature.
Matt Targett: 7/10
Targett combined well with Fraser down the left flank with a number of overlapping and underlapping runs. His ball-playing skills and pushing up and down the pitch gave a different outlook to the left-hand side. Should start the next game against Liverpool.
Jacob Murphy: NA/10
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Elliot Anderson: NA/10
A bright cameo from the highly-rated attacking prodigy, who nearly headed home a winner for his boyhood club on his first appearance of the season.
Matt Ritchie: NA/10
Came on for struggling Saint-Maximin. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
