Saint-Maximin stunner rescues point for Newcastle at Wolves

Allan Saint-Maximin’s sensational, 90th-minute volley rescued a 1-1 draw for Newcastle against Wolves at Molineux, denying the hosts a first Premier League win of the season.

The Frenchman showed brilliant technique as he met a looping clearance from Wolves substitute Hee-Chan Hwang with a devastating right-footed strike from 20 yards out which left Jose Sa with no chance.

Newcastle appeared to be heading for their first defeat of the season after a similarly eye-catching long-range goal from Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves late in the first half put the hosts on the brink of victory.

But Saint-Maximin’s strike made for a deserved leveller after Newcastle had dominated possession and missed a string of chances, and they were inches away from winning it in the seventh minute of stoppage time when substitute Elliot Anderson sent a header against the bar following a corner.

That late miss caused frustration for the visitors, who had 21 shots to Wolves’ 10, and there was also a late blow when they lost goalscorer Saint-Maximin to an apparent hamstring injury shortly after his equalising goal.

How Newcastle fought back to draw

Newcastle began the game strongly as they sought to continue their unbeaten start to the season but, without injured duo Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes as well as ?58m signing Alexander Isak, whose work permit did not arrive in time, they lacked a cutting edge.

Chris Wood was denied by Sa from an angle after finding himself through on goal early on and Joe Willock then missed a simple close-range opportunity, firing wide from only eight yards out.

Newcastle felt they should have had a penalty seconds before that chance, when Matheus Nunes appeared to pull back Sean Longstaff, but Willock’s miss allowed Wolves to gradually shift the momentum of the game in their favour.

Nunes headed wide from a Raul Jimenez cross, while the Mexico striker himself sent another half-chance straight at Nick Pope, but Neves’ opener arrived not long afterwards, the midfielder scoring his 16th Wolves goal from outside the box as he fired past Pope after collecting a Goncalo Guedes pass 25 yards out.

Newcastle were perhaps fortunate a Fabian Schar booking was not upgraded to a red card when he appeared to go in high on Pedro Neto after the break, but the defender survived a VAR check and Newcastle continued to have the better of the possession and territory.

Wolves remained a threat on the break, however, and thought they had wrapped up the win when Jimenez converted a Neto cross following an 81st-minute breakaway, only for VAR to penalise Neto for a foul on Ryan Fraser in the build-up.

Newcastle kept pushing and got their reward when Saint-Maximin, who had been well shackled for most of the contest, crashed home their equaliser, but Anderson’s late miss left them feeling they could have had three points rather than one. Wolves will feel the same.

Wolves’ winless run goes on – Opta stats

Wolves are without a win in their last 11 Premier League matches (D4 L7), the longest ongoing winless run among the 20 current sides in the competition. It’s Wolves’ longest winless league streak since March 2013 in the Championship (run of 12).Wolves have failed to win any of their last three Premier League matches when scoring first (D1 L2), their worst run since an eight-game stretch spanning November 2011 to August 2018.Ruben Neves has scored 19 non-penalty goals for Wolves in all competitions, with 16 of those coming from outside the box. Since his debut in August 2017, he has four times as many goals from outside the penalty area as any other Wolves player.

What’s next?

Liverpool host Newcastle in the Premier League on Wednesday at Anfield; kick-off 8pm. Bournemouth are at home to Wolves on the same night at the Vitality Stadium; kick-off 7.30pm.