Palace win away as Edwards suffers debut defeat with Wolves

Crystal Palace surged up to fourth in the Premier League table as Rob Edwards' first game in charge of struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers ended in a 2-0 defeat.

Two goals in six second-half minutes from Daniel Munoz and Yeremy Pino did the damage for Palace, who squandered multiple chances prior to edging ahead on Saturday.

Wolves had opportunities of their own, with Ladislav Krejci and Joao Gomes going closest, but they were unable to find their way past Dean Henderson and suffered more Molineux misery.

Edwards made the move from promotion-chasing Championship side Middlesbrough during the international break but faces an uphill battle to drag his side off the bottom of the table.

Wolves are winless in all 12 league outings this season, while the victory moves Palace into the top four on 20 points.

How the match unfolded

Jean-Philippe Mateta wasted a glorious opening after 16 minutes, skewing wide with the goal at his mercy after Pino had sent the striker in behind.

Wolves 'keeper Sam Johnstone then dived to his right to deny Daichi Kamada before Henderson parried Joao Gomes’ deflected free-kick at the other end, with Krejci unable to convert the rebound.

Palace powered ahead when Munoz fired into an unguarded net after Adam Wharton’s initial effort had been blocked by team-mate Maxence Lacroix in the 63rd minute.

That lead was doubled in the blink of an eye when Pino curled the ball in off the crossbar from outside the box, punishing Wolves’ poor passing at the back to effectively seal the win.

Substitute Jhon Arias went close to pulling a goal back for Wolves, while Lacroix made a stunning block to keep out an effort from David Moller Wolfe as Palace held on to their clean sheet.

Edwards left with more questions than answers

Wolves showed signs of some renewed life under Edwards, but that seemed to disappear after they went a goal down.

Edwards opted to stick with a familiar formation for Wolves in his first game, starting with a back three, but they struggled to cope with the Palace attacks from wide areas.

Johnstone appeared visibly frustrated on multiple occasions when his defenders failed to clear their lines, leaving Wolves exposed from a barrage of attacks down either flank.

Although they struggled in the defensive third, Wolves' attack gave some reason for optimism that Edwards may hope to build upon and ease ever-growing pressure from the Molineux support.

Jorgen Stand Larsen constantly occupied the Palace back line, winning the free-kick from which Joao Gomes almost scored, while the Norway striker also linked up well with Tolu Arokodare.

Arias provided a bright spark after coming on as well, and should have done better with his chance in the 75th minute when he stumbled over himself while shooting.

Another defeat, however, leaves plenty to think about for Edwards before their next league outing against Midlands rivals Aston Villa.

Persistence pays off for Palace

Palace failed to win four consecutive games in all competitions last month, but Oliver Glasner’s side have now bounced back to go unbeaten in their last five.

Their resilience was key to breaking down Wolves as the visitors continued to pile on the pressure following every missed opportunity.

Glasner was left in disbelief when Mateta’s first-half strike went wide of the post, which came shortly after they saw a VAR check for a potential penalty for a foul on Ismaila Sarr end with a free-kick awarded.

Sarr went close to scoring himself early in the second half, but the Palace winger fired over the bar with a first-time shot from Pino’s low cross.

Glasner showed trust in his bench too, replacing Mateta with Eddie Nketiah in the 60th minute while the match was still goalless.

Nketiah almost found the back of the net in the final minutes of regular time, but his shot flashed wide of the target, with the result sealed.

Glasner will need to continue relying on his whole squad, with a trip to Strasbourg in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday preceding their next league match at home to Manchester United.

Club reports

Wolves report | Crystal Palace report

What the managers said

Rob Edwards: "Today was probably the story of our season – what we're picking up on at the moment, it was really important that we got the first goal, and we weren't able to do that. The game was so tight at that moment, and then clearly a loose giveaway and a brilliant finish from them, it's almost a non-chance, but a brilliant a brilliant finish for the second goal.

"Obviously, we're disappointed with the result today, but we’ve got to try and build on the things. There were some glimpses there. We created some big chances and there were moments there."

Oliver Glasner: "A very good result, especially after an international break – the first time this year where we could win after an international break.

“We spoke about it and the players did really well. It was a tight game. We expected this. A highly motivated Wolves side with a new manager, you could feel the enthusiasm in the stadium at the beginning. I think we did really well."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Wolves are the first team since Newcastle in 2021/22 (14 games) to fail to win any of their opening 12 Premier League matches of a season, while their two points from 12 games are the third-fewest in top-flight history after 12 games, behind Man Utd in 1930/31 (zero) and Sheffield United in 2020/21 (one).

Palace have lost just two of their last 18 Premier League matches (W7 D9) and have kept three league clean sheets in a row for the first time since October 2023.

Wolves have gone 16 consecutive Premier League matches without a win (D3 L13) since a six-game winning run in March/April 2025. It’s their worst league winless run since a 19-game stretch between December 1984 and April 1985.

Palace have 20 points from 12 Premier League games this season (W5 D5 L2), their best start to a league season since 2012/13 in the Championship (21), and best in the top-flight since 1991/92 (20).