Wolves 2-1 Everton: player ratings, heroes, villains and man of the match as Toffees’ slump continues

Everton slumped to a third successive Premier League defeat at the hands of Wolves.

The Toffees were beaten 2-1 at Molineux and could have few complaints as their miserable form continued.

The home side dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead in the 28th minute through Max Kilman’s header.

Then Raul Jimenez profited from a Ben Godfrey misplaced pass to double Wolves lead four minutes later.

Everton did improve slightly in the second half and reduced the arrears when Alex Iwobi fired home on 65 minutes.

Yet Rafa Benitez’s men couldn’t find an equaliser and dropped to 10th in the table.

The heroes

- Raul Jimenez: the Portuguese loves a goal against Everton. Jimenez has never failed to score against the Blues and goals don’t come much easier than his latest one. A really fine finish.

- Hwang Hee-chan: the South Korea international ran the show all evening. He was tricky, direct and intelligent, with Everton struggling to nullify his threat. Only denied a goal by a tight VAR review for offside. Man of the match.

- Jose Sa: the Wolves keeper made a vital save in the closing stages to deny Anthony Gordon an equaliser. The Everton substitute met a corner with plenty of venom but Sa made a brilliant stop to his right to thwart the effort.

The villains

- Ben Godfrey: what was the defender thinking? Godfrey didn’t look up at all when he played a pass behind Mason Holgate and Jimenez fully profited. The England international was also suspect in the air for Wolves’ opener.

- Mason Holgate: Godfrey’s backward pass might have been poor but Holgate was ponderous when tracking back. He was also luckily not to have been booked not once but twice, with a mistimed lunge on Trincao luckily just outside the penalty area.

- Jean-Philippe Gbamin: the midfielder has had his well-documented injury problems at Goodison and was making his first Premier League start since August 2019. However, Gbamin struggled to make any sort of impact and Wolves easily broke through the engine room. He was hooked at half-time for Fabian Delph and it really was no surprise.

Player ratings

Wolves: Jose Sa 7, Kilman 7, Coady 7, Saiss 6, Semedo 6, Neves 7, Moutinho 6, Ait Nouri 6, Trincao 7 (Podence 79), Raul Jiménez 8 (Dendoncker 89), Hwang 8 (Silva 90+3).

Everton: Pickford 6, Coleman 4, Holgate 3, Keane 3, Godfrey 3, Townsend 5, Gbamin 3 (Delph 46; 7), Allan 5, Iwobi 5 (Gordon 78; 7), Gray 5 (Rondon 90), Richarlison 5.

What’s next for Everton?

The Toffees welcome Tottenham to Goodison Park on Sunday.

Spurs look like they’ll have Antonio Conte in dugout for the first time. He’s reportedly set to take charge of the Londoners after the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo just 10 games into the campaign.