Wolves - Newcastle: Jacob Murphy swirled a gorgeous free kick equalizer home to give Newcastle a 1-1 draw with Wolves at the Molineux Stadium on Sunday.
Wolves had controlled the game and led late when Raul Jimenez’s late rocket looked to have secured Wolves three points and a place in the top four.
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Instead, Wolves sit seventh with a 3W-1D-2L record while Newcastle moves to 2-2-2.
Wolves - Newcastle included some talking points and the sides played out a fourth-straight 1-1 draw.
Three things we learned from Wolves - Newcastle
1. Magpies love to steal: From Jonjo Shelvey against Man City last season to VAR versus Spurs this season, Newcastle has made a habit of harvesting a point from a bad crop. That’s not to say the Magpies didn’t work hard for their point on Sunday -- especially given their midfield injuries -- and it certainly shouldn’t take away from the cleverness and quality of Murphy’s equalizer. Wow (video atop post).
2. Rusty Jimenez finds his feet: Cameras caught Mexican international Raul Jimenez in warm-ups as he lost focus on a bouncing pass, which went under his foot. It was one of those goofy moments but turned out to be a microcosm for his game, as Wolves found him in at least three promising places in the first 50 minutes without finish. It was not for lack of effort, and the industrious El Tri star found his way home with an 80th-minute rocket off the hands of Darlow and into the side netting. Shooters gonna (and gotta) shoot.
3. Magpies stack the back: Steve Bruce clearly didn’t love his chances against Wolves without Jonjo Shelvey and a recuperating Isaac Hayden, and doubled down when he evaluated life at halftime. Newcastle lined up conservatively and even moreso after the break, blocking a number of shots in a bid to claim a point. A 78th-minute sub of Joelinton for Ryan Fraser and Sean Longstaff for Saint-Maximin somewhat underlined the point. It did not work (but then it kinda did).
Man of the Match
Daniel Podence did everything but score at the Molineux, with two key passes and cutthroat dribbling (5-of-7).
Wolves - Newcastle recap
Karl Darlow passed fit for this match after an injury against Manchester United and was tested in the fifth minute, diving low to make a fine save from Daniel Podence.
Nelson Semedo’s terrific run looked to have set up Raul Jimenez for something special but the Mexican fumbled his shot.
Newcastle got a chance out of nothing when Jamal Lewis bent a beautiful path to Callum Wilson, the latter’s shot blocked near the touch line.
Newcastle settled into the match after 15 minutes of trouble.
A sleepy enough half snapped to life on a Newcastle counter attack that included a wild field switch from Miguel Almiron and drive from Allan Saint-Maximin that deflected to give Rui Patricio some trouble.
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Jimenez missed another chance before halftime, then a Newcastle giveaway allowed Podence to cue up Pedro Neto for a rip over the bar.
Newcastle saw a spell of possession around the hour mark that included a handball shout after Callum Wilson cued up Almiron.
It was almost all Wolves the rest of the way and Jimenez’s goal was a deserved opener both in quality and control of the game.
But Murphy continued Newcastle’s habit of stealing points, the surprise wingback curling a scintillating and aesthetically-pleasing free kick past a diving Patricio.