Wolves avoided a third consecutive defeat with a much-needed 2-1 comeback victory over Burnley at Turf Moor. Jamie Vardy opened the scoring with his first goal for Burnley, but Fer López and super-sub Tawanda Chirewa capitalized on two costly defensive mistakes to turn the game around. It wasn’t always pretty, particularly in the opening half-hour, but Wolves showed some much-needed resilience to secure all three points on the road. Here are two positives and two negatives from the win.
The Good
Wolves Come From Behind to Pick Up a Win
The last time Wolves came from behind to win was a 4-1 victory over Stoke, after conceding in the second minute. The last time they managed it on the road? April 5, 2025. 559 days ago. Pablo Sarabia and Jørgen Strand Larsen scored the goals that day, if that helps age anyone.
Regardless of Burnley’s dreadful home record, this should be a massive confidence boost for a Wolves side that has struggled to respond to adversity. Going behind early and finding a way to win, especially away from home, is exactly the sort of result this squad needed.
Capitalizing on Mistakes
How many times have we watched Wolves dominate large portions of a match, only to throw it all away with an absolutely boneheaded mistake that the opposition immediately punishes? Well, for once, Wolves were on the other end of it.
Both López’s and Chirewa’s goals came from poor defensive mistakes by Burnley, and instead of squandering the opportunities as we’ve grown so accustomed to seeing, Wolves actually made them pay. Credit also has to go to the pressing that forced those errors. It was refreshing to see Wolves take advantage of another team’s sloppiness rather than being the ones punished for their own.
The Bad
The First 30 Minutes
Before López’s equalizer, which came firmly against the run of play, Wolves looked awful. Passes weren’t connecting, runners were being left completely unmarked, and Burnley seemed to find space every time they went forward. Frankly, Wolves were fortunate to only be trailing 1-0.
Thankfully, the equalizer seemed to inject some much-needed confidence into the side. The momentum shifted, and Wolves looked like a completely different team after the break, controlling much of the second half. Still, starts like that against stronger opposition could see the match decided before Wolves even find their footing.
Less Than Stellar Finishing
As encouraging as the comeback was, Wolves were fortunate that two defensive mistakes provided their goals. That’s not to say it was all luck; the pressing was effective and deserves credit. But against better opposition, Wolves will need to create and finish chances without relying on the other team to hand them over.
Saïd made an incredible run that Doyle managed to waste terribly, while Bellegarde unleashed a few shots from distance that nearly took out someone in the fourth row. There were opportunities to put the game to bed, but the finishing simply wasn’t good enough.
Three points are three points, but Wolves cannot expect every opponent to be this generous. The finishing has to improve.
