Neves’s penalty against Nottingham Forest was enough to pull Wolverhampton from relegation after suffering three straight defeats in their last three matches.
Forest are still waiting for their second win of the season, and despite surrendering a 1-0 lead to draw with Aston Villa last time out, Steve Cooper’s side will come into this game with confidence, against a side who have lost their last three straight games.
Wolverhampton started strong, and Moutinho almost put Costa through a goal as he sneaks behind the Forest defense, but Henderson was out to claim the ball before the striker can latch onto it.
Wolverhampton and Nottingham Forest traded shots in the first 30 minutes, most of which were either blocked or fired over the bar.
Nottingham Forest have lost three of their four away Premier League games this season, including the last two by an aggregate score of 10-0. They’ve only scored once on the road so far, with Brennan Johnson netting against Everton in August.
It was a goalless first half, but one that had been dominated by the home side. Wolves have been camped in Forest’s half at times, and have tested their defence on several occasions, but the final ball or shot has let them down each time.
In the 55th minute, the referee awarded a penalty after numerous VAR replays of Traore’s shot striking Toffolo’s outstretched arm.
The captain was up and he smashed the ball beyond Henderson’s grasp, and into the bottom corner to put Wolves 1-0 up. Nearly four games without a goal for Wolves came to an end, and Neves kept his cool when it mattered from the spot.
Johnson stepped up after Nottingham Forest incurred another penalty in the 78th minute, but Sa dived brilliantly to tip it away with his left hand.
Wolves’ crucial three points sent them up to 17th in the table, a place above the bottom three at Southampton’s expense. It’s worse news for Forest though, who dropped to 20th place thanks to Leicester’s draw with Crystal Palace in an earlier fixture.
