In the end, a lacklustre showing developed into a humbling home defeat for Wolves, who were outplayed and out-thought by Brighton for most of the match, in which the hosts barely threatened their visitors’ goal.
The Seagulls could even afford to miss a first-half penalty as they cruised to another away win – a fourth from their last five attempts.
That merited three points sees them close within five of their beaten opponents and into the Premier League’s top half.
Starting lineup:
WOLVES (3-5-2): Jose Sa; Romain Saiss, Conor Coady, Willy Boly; Nelson Semedo, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker, Ruben Neves, Rayan Ait-Nouri; Hwang Hee-Chan, Fabio Silva.
SUBS: John Ruddy, Marcal, Pedro Neto, Raul Jimenez, Francisco Trincao, Jonny Castro Otto, Chiquinho, Toti Gomes, Luke Cundle.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION (3-5-1-1): Robert Sanchez; Marc Cucurella, Lewis Dunk, Joel Veltman; Leandro Trossard, Yves Bissouma, Moises Caicedo, Enock Mwepu, Solly March; Alexis Mac Allister; Danny Welbeck.
SUBS: Jason Steele, Tariq Lamptey, Adam Webster, Neal Maupay, Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana, Steven Alzate, Shane Duffy, Evan Ferguson.
Goals:
BRIGHTON LEAD! Showing great courage, Mac Allister steps up again, and this time his spot-kick makes it into the back of the net via the grasping glove of Sa! The Wolves keeper dived the right way but could not prevent Brighton from taking a 1-0 lead just before the break.
BRIGHTON STRIKE AGAIN! The visitor’s slice opens their hosts on the counter with a well-timed pass from Welbeck, which finds Trossard in the area. The Belgian forward takes a couple of touches to open up the angle and then coolly slots the ball past Sa at the far post. It’s 2-0 to Brighton.
BRIGHTON HAVE A THIRD! After a surging run down the left ends in a Cucurella cross, the ball is only headed partly clear, falling to Bissouma 20 yards from goal. The midfielder steps into some space and unleashes a well-placed strike into the bottom corner past a despairing Sa! It’s 3-0 to Brighton.
So, what’s next?
Brighton will hope to belatedly convert their prowess on the road into better fortunes at home when they take on Manchester United next week.
Meanwhile, the Wolves must play Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in three of their final four fixtures – starting with the former at Stamford Bridge next Saturday.
