Brighton close in on European football with thrashing of relegated Wolves

[p]The hosts made the perfect start as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hinshelwood-jack/0IBtygvF/"]Jack Hinshelwood[/a] made the breakthrough after only 36 seconds, [b]when he headed home following [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-cuyper-maxim/GGc6kPWT/"]Maxim De Cuyper[/a]’s excellent delivery from the left flank to secure his fourth league goal of the season.[/b][/p][p][b]Things quickly went from bad to worse for the visitors, as dismal defending allowed Lewis Dunk to score from close range with a simple header after meeting De Cuyper’s in-swinging corner kick.[/b][/p][embed guid="bfef6768-2e50-42e6-accd-c35e03610be4" url="https://x.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/2053115470882983997" social-type="twitter" /][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/2XrRecc3/"]Seagulls[/a] were in no mood to feel sorry for their already-relegated opposition, and came very close to adding a third goal just before the quarter-hour mark, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kaoru-mitoma/faIBBRXl/"]Kaoru Mitoma[/a] struck the ball into the side-netting from a very dangerous position. [/p][p]Fabian Hurzeler’s side continued to dominate as the first half progressed, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wolves/j3Azpf5d/"]Wolves[/a] needed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bentley-daniel/SWSRDdEf/"]Daniel Bentley[/a] to produce an impressive save to deny Danny Welbeck from adding his name to the score sheet. [/p][p]The half-time whistle couldn’t come soon enough for Rob Edwards, as, even though the hosts didn’t score any further goals before the interval, Wolves failed to have a single shot in the first half.[/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="40c22a43-23b1-410a-9ecb-9bf3c69c5e99" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="10768853-481a-47dd-8b2d-be1951185ff3" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p]The visitors showed some improvement in the early stages of the second half, and came agonisingly close to halving the deficit after 53 minutes when a close-range header from Yerson Mosquera hit the bar after meeting a cross into the box by Mateus Mane.[/p][p]Brighton were then dealt a blow shortly before the hour mark, as Mitoma was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. [/p][p][b]With the contest petering out, the Seagulls made sure of all three points after 86 minutes as Yankuba Minteh lashed the ball into the back of the net, after the Wolves' defence failed to clear their lines properly.[/b][/p][embed guid="c30fd4b7-ceeb-4c19-8f3c-b14d0b0ba079" url="https://x.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/2053139922979058165" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Seagulls are now on a run of three successive home victories in the Premier League and will face Leeds United at Elland Road next weekend.[/p][p]Meanwhile, Wolves remain rooted to the bottom of the table and have still not won a single league match away from Molineux Stadium this season.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bentley-daniel/SWSRDdEf/"]Daniel Bentley[/a] (Wolves)[/b][/p][image alt="Match stats" id="34bb71d9-ec9d-4dba-b29d-97c24c3d7020" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="e42976da-cb91-4c40-b314-175b7f37a7ef" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/brighton-2XrRecc3/wolves-j3Azpf5d/?mid=YLpmOIBr"]Click here to see all the stats of the match[/a].[/b][/p]