Matheus Cunha shocks 10-man Bournemouth to ease Wolves relegation fears

The time when club officials from Madrid, Milan and Munich start scoping logistics for accommodation in the Bournemouth area is delayed for now. Beating Wolves would have taken Andoni Iraola’s team into fourth place but expectation can do funny things. Next season’s Champions League remains a dream some way from being realised.

Under a different kind of pressure, Bournemouth folded to an organised, muscular and determined Wolves, the talismanic Matheus Cunha scoring the winner. Even before Illia Zabarnyi’s disputed but deserved red card, the Bournemouth machine had shown defective signs, the football from the gods they have lately been playing deserting them. If officialdom took the public blame, Bournemouth deserved their share.

Since in December replacing Gary O’Neil, Vítor Pereira has attempted to add control and defensive rigour to Wolves. Here were the results of a slow process. The strategy might have been as simple as locking down mistakes and supplying Cunha plenty of the ball but it bore excellent results.

Wolves began by defending deep, an expectant home crowd urging on a team beaten only by Liverpool since the start of 2025. There were some early warning signs. A rapid counterattack saw Nélson Semedo hit the post, and then Jean-Ricner Bellegarde forced a fine early save from Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Iraola appeared to recognise the danger of that change in mindset, forever on the sidelines and asking his players to maintain the endeavours that have taken them so high. Meanwhile, Wolves’ intentions of doing more than sit back became clear. They still conceded chances, José Sá smothering when Justin Kluivert was sent through but the visitors were holding their lines well, even without Emmanuel Agbadou, the January signing a big hit since his arrival.

Then came the flashpoint that tilted the game in Wolves’ favour. Zabarnyi’s tackle took the ball first but also tanked through Rayan Aït-Nouri. A pantomime standoff saw both benches up in arms before video assistant referee Stuart Attwell recommended Michael Salisbury’s initial yellow card be upgraded to red. Such is Wolves’ bitter case history with officialdom their fans led the choruses decrying the video protocol despite it ruling in their team’s favour.

Bournemouth, who previously took the Premier League by storm with 12 fit players, were being asked to thrive with 10 and Cunha’s goal came after Dean Huijsen and full-back James Hill, shuffled inwards as an emergency centre-back, both misread the ball.

For Wolves, that put victory and safety in clear sight. Could they in turn live with expectation? Iraola improvised as Dango Ouattara, recently repurposed as a star striker, was asked to play left wing-back. A lack of defensive nous almost let in Semedo for a chance that should have clinched it, only for Kepa to gratefully accept a poorly hit shot. Marshall Munetsi missed a yet better chance on the hour.

Sign up to Football Daily. Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football. after newsletter promotion. Ryan Christie, who struggled amid Wolves’ midfield blockade to belie recent rave reviews, was replaced by the energy of Tyler Adams as Iraola sought further solutions, including the removal of Kluivert, so often the leading man in the Cherries’ sweet science, for Alex Scott. Evanilson, named on the bench, was not risked. As Wolves began to play for time, Bournemouth’s levels of frustration increased. David Brooks, another substitute, threw himself into challenges in a fashion against any reputation as a genteel, creative type.

Meanwhile, Cunha, and half-time arrival Jørgen Strand Larsen held the ball up, winning fouls and territory, with Wolves creating the better chances as full-time and victory approached. Iraola’s team ran out of ideas and energy. The team of the future, as hailed by Pep Guardiola, beaten by old-fashioned conservatism, and the weight of their own expectations.