Brighton dismantle woeful Wolves at the Amex

Wolves fans have been pleased as of late by their seemingly successful fight out of the relegation zone, which has been spearheaded by their Europa League winning manager Julen Lopetegui. However, this good feeling came to a hard stop on Saturday, as De Zerbi’s Brighton demolished the Birmingham based outfit by 6 goals to nil.

Eyebrows were raised before the game through decisions to change Brighton’s line-up which faced Manchester United in the Fa Cup semi-final on the 23^rd April. Their consistent stars such as Mitoma, Caicedo and Mac Allister had all been placed on the bench before the game, which must have given opposing fans the hope of a win against The Seagulls, as the odds were bleak in the build up to the fixture. But Brighton ultimately came out on top in emphatic fashion as they blew Wolves away with their now well renowned passing-based style as well as many displays of clinical finishing.

Undav opened up the scoring early on in the game with a simple finish after some magnificent build up play by Brighton. A few minutes later Pascal Gross showed great composure in the box with his first goal, which was later turned into two goals after he took a beautiful volley outside of the box. Danny Welbeck then bagged a brace with a well cushioned header and solid strike from outside of the area. Before Undav piled onto Wolves’ misery by also claiming his second of the game, through a delicate chip after a miscommunication between Sa and Nunes at the back.

In his post-match interview De Zerbi stated that ‘Today was my best game as a coach’ which is certainly high praise for this Brighton side who have impressed so many in the premier league, especially after the departure of their long-term manager Graham Potter. De Zerbi undoubtedly deserves his plaudits in what can be considered a very successful season for the club, who still have a very likely chance of Europa league football next season as they have a 2-point difference with 3 games in hand on the two sides currently ahead of them, as they sit behind 7^th placed Aston Villa and 6^th placed Tottenham Hotspur.

In Lopetegui’s post-match analysis he angrily stated ‘I don’t recognise my team or my players’ as he reflected on his humbling defeat. Wolves will now hope to regain their momentum as the season begins to close just to guarantee their safety from playing in the Championship next season. With star players such as Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto, Wolves should have enough quality and experience with their players and their manager to see out a comfortable mid table finish.