WOLVERHAMPTON, England (Reuters) -Wolverhampton Wanderers are stuck at the bottom of the Premier League despite an entertaining 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday with all the goals coming in the second half.
Goals by Jorgen Strand Larsen and Joao Gomes inside five minutes midway through the second period turned the game in Wolves’ favour after Trevoh Chalobah had given Palace the lead.
But Palace defender Marc Guehi equalised from close range in the 77th minute after a corner was flicked on to leave Wolves still without a league win so far this season after 10 games.
A point was the least Palace deserved as they carved out the game’s best chances and should have led by halftime. They also had a stoppage-time goal ruled out.
Wolves prop up the table with three points while Palace, who claimed their first win last week, are 17th with seven.
Some boos rang out at the end and Wolves manager Gary O’Neil remains under pressure after a horrid start to the campaign.
It is only the third time in their history that Wolves have failed to win any of their opening 10 league games — and the first time since 1926-27.
“I don’t think it’s all on him. The whole group has a lot of responsibility. We need to keep going,” Wolves striker Matheus Cunha said. “When you are a football player, you need to give your energy to the things you can manage.”
Palace were the better side in the first half and Will Hughes should have put them ahead before Jean-Philippe Mateta looked certain to score only to see his effort blocked on the line by his own team mate Eddie Nketiah.
The visitors went ahead on the hour when Chalobah’s angled shot found the net after poor Wolves defending.
The home side responded in spirited fashion and levelled when Strand Larsen was played through by Cunha and struck a shot that went through the legs of keeper Dean Henderson in the 67th.
A rejuvenated Wolves then went ahead as substitute Goncalo Gomes’s low cross was steered in by Joao Gomes five minutes later.
Palace, however, were not done and Guehi stole in at the back post to meet a flicked header from team mate Daniel Munoz in the 77th.
Wolves were spared defeat when Mateta turned home a loose ball in the 96th minute but his effort was ruled out for a foul on keeper Jose Sa.
“We should have taken the lead before halftime. We had two great chances after making it 1-0,” Palace coach Oliver Glasner said. “You could see the players were tired, the squad is very tight at the moment. I’m proud of how we performed today.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ken Ferris)
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