Everton’s halftime lead went away as did two Toffees players as Wolverhampton Wanderers rallied for 1-1 draw with n their nine-man hosts at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Wednesday,
Michael Keane was sent off for pulling the hair of Tolu Arokodare, and Jack Grealish was later shown a second yellow card of the night when he sarcastically clapped up the referee.
WATCH — Everton v Wolves full match replay
Keane had scored Everton’s goal but saw it canceled out by in-form Mateus Mane.
Rob Edwards and Wolves are now three games unbeaten for the first time this season, yet still find themselves 20th on the table with seven points.
Everton must flex what’s different about them… or settle for the same old, same old
Everton are missing some key players and, yes, Wolves have been much better of late, but David Moyes’ team was giving off signs that they had turned a corner. Now, at least results’ wise, it’s looking a lot more like the up-and-down Everton that’s existed for about a decade. Moyes’ men have one win from their last six Premier League games and it came against unimpressive Nottingham Forest. Their draws in that run? Against Burley and Wolves. Losses to Chelsea and Arsenal are forgivable but the 4-2 home loss to Brentford in Week 20 is a head-scratcher (They trailed 3-0 and 4-1). Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye will return and — in theory — one day so will Jarrad Branthwaite. But they needed more points from this stretch to position themselves for the second half of the season. Yes, they need more from the forwards — Thierno Barry’s looked better of late — but they’re still being out-attempted in every phase of play and arguably out-producing their below-average open play metrics. Is Everton going to be a resurgent European contender or just a mid-table also-ran? They’ll need more goals and less hair pulling and face slapping to do so.
What’s next?
Everton host Sunderland early Saturday in the FA Cup, then head to Aston Villa on January 18 in the Premier League.
Wolves welcome Shrewsbury Town to the Molineux for an FA Cup match on Saturday, then host Newcastle United on January 18.
Everton vs Wolves final score: 1-1
Michael Keane 17′, Mateus Mane 69′
Red card: Michael Keane 83′, Jack Grealish 90′
Everton vs Wolves live updatesHuge save from Jordan Pickford
Hugo Bueno pastes a shot across goal toward the upper 90 but Jordan Pickford somehow reaches the it to slap over.
Jack Grealish red card ahead of nine minutes’ stoppage.
Grealish has been shown a second yellow card in the 90th minute after sarcastically clapping up the referee. it’s the second time he saw one for unsporting behavior toward a referee.
Wolves can attack the Toffees’ nine men to attack for at least nine minutes.
Grealish sent off for second yellow card v. Wolves
Jack Grealish is sent off for his second yellow card after clapping sarcastically at the referee, forcing Everton to go down to nine-men against Wolves.
Michael Keane red card
Keane and Tolu Arokodare go up for a 50:50 ball and Keane grabs a hold of Arokodare’s braids, yanking him down.
It should be a red card and, after VAR review, it is given as red.
Mateus Mane goal — Everton 1-1 Wolves
Oh, this is some move.
Jorgen Strand Larsen drops deep into the midfield to take a pass, turning to send Mateus Mane toward the top of the 18.
Mane drags the ball from his back foot toward goal and smacks it around Jordan Pickford.
Wolves are level!
Mane tucks away Wolves’ equalizer against Everton
Mateus Mane scores his second goal in his last two matches with a lovely finish past Jordan Pickford to make it 1-1 for Wolves against Everton.
Just one sub at the break
Wolves bring Andre into the game for Jhon Arias.
Halftime — Everton 1-0 Wolves
Toffees deservedly in front but Wolves haven’t looked like quitting any time soon.
All to play for, as they say.
Wolves fighting but so open
The Everton goal is leading to more Everton chances as Wolves are pressing for the ball and attack but aren’t the sturdiest group of defenders as it is.
Iroegbunam having a fantastic game for the Toffees, teaming up well with Grealish. James Garner also lively in blue.
Michael Keane goal — Everton 1-0 Wolves
Iroegbunam again gets on a partial clearance at the far post.
He hits a bounding ball across the box and Keane’s technique to turn the ball into the goal is terrific.
Keane powers Everton 1-0 in front of Wolves
Michael Keane scores his third goal of the season as his first-time strike finds the roof of the net to give the Toffees a 1-0 lead against Wolves at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Grealish creates a chance
Jack Grealish dribbles around the left corner and keeps the ball through contact, cutting it back to Harrison Armstrong.
The 18-year-old is brave with an outside-of-the-boot cross that is knocked down by Wolves, and Timothy Iroegbunam golfs a half-chance over the goal from 16 yards.
0-0, 8′.
Everton lineup
Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Garner, Iroegbunam, McNeil, Armstrong, Grealish, Barry
Wolves lineup
Sa, Krejci, S. Bueno, Mosquera, H. Bueno, J. Gomes, Arias, Mane, Tchatchoua, Arokodare, Hwang
Everton vs Wolves preview
The 20th-place Wolves won their first game of the season on Saturday when they beat West Ham United 3-0 at the Molineux, a game which came on the heels of a draw at Manchester United. The only other points they collected this season came in Week 6 and 7 draws with Spurs and Brighton.
Everton have lost back-to-back home games and have won just once in their last five matches. Close clean-sheet losses to Chelsea and Arsenal were understandable, but drawing Burnley before shipping four at home to Brentford have raised some eyebrows.
David Moyes will try to get this team back on track with a win that would plug them right back into the race for European places, but he’ll also know that Wolves scored twice in the reverse fixture back in Week 3 at the Molineux.
Everton team news, focus
OUT: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (hamstring), Idrissa Gana Gueye (international duty – AFCON), Iliman Ndiaye (international duty – AFCON), Seamus Coleman (unspecified), Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Carlos Alcaraz (unspecified).
Wolves team news, focus
OUT: Toti Gomes (hamstring), Tawanda Chirewa (international duty – AFCON), Emmanuel Agbadou (international duty – AFCON), Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (hamstring), Marshall Munetsi (calf), Leon Chiwone (knee), Dan Bentley (ankle) | QUESTIONABLE: Rodrigo Gomes (groin), Joao Gomes (groin), Hee-chan Hwang (calf)
Everton vs Wolves prediction
The Toffees will expect that the four goals conceded to Brentford were an aberration, and they’ll hope that scoring a pair in that game opens the floodgates. But Wolves feel a little bit dangerous after their breakthrough against West Ham. Could they grab another point? Maybe. Everton 1-1 Wolves.
How to watch Everton vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:30pm ET Wednesday
Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium — Vauxhall, Liverpool
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Watch live on Peacock