Wolves down Palace to go third

 

Teenage defender Rayan Ait-Nouri marked his Wolves debut with a goal in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Molineux on Friday to move up into third place in the Premier League.

Victory put Wolves level on points with the leading Merseyside duo of Everton and reigning champions Liverpool ahead of the remainder of this weekend’s fixtures.

France Under-21 left-back Ait-Nouri joined Wolves on a season-long loan – with an option to buy – from Ligue 1 Angers this month.

It took him just 18 minutes to open the scoring with a first-time shot.

Portuguese winger Daniel Podence doubled Wolves’ lead nine minutes later, when he turned in Pedro Neto’s cross from close range.

Wolves almost had a third goal before halftime as Nelson Semedo and Leander Dendoncker went close with long-range efforts.

VAR denied Palace a penalty when Patrick van Aanholt was found to be offside, before being fouled by Willy Boly.

Things got worse for Palace when Luka Milivojevic was sent off late on following a VAR review of his challenge on Wolves substitute Joao Moutinho.

Defeat left the south London side ninth in the table as they continue to search for consistency.