Wolves and Blackburn shared the points in a Championship opening day fixture at Molineux Stadium on Thursday evening. The hosts took an early lead through Marshall Munetsi in the eighteenth minute before Sean McLoughlin levelled for Blackburn nine minutes later. Andri Guðjohnsen put the visitors ahead in the forty-eighth minute, only for Raúl Jiménez to salvage a draw with a penalty in stoppage time.
Wolves controlled the tempo for long periods and pushed hard for a winner. They registered 119 attacks compared to Blackburn's 69, and their expected goals figure of 1.97 tells you they created the better chances. But Blackburn were ruthless when it mattered, converting two shots on target into two goals. There is no value left at that number when you miss the big chances, and Wolves were left staring at a point they had earned by then.
Blackburn kept their heads after going behind and tightened things up in midfield. Harry Pickering, Todd Cantwell and Adam Forshaw all picked up yellow cards as the visitors tried to disrupt Wolves' rhythm. Mateus Mané was cautioned for the hosts, and the referee was not shy about showing cards when tempers frayed. A fourth straight win was not on the cards for either side, but the draw brought them together early.
Substitutions came thick and fast as both managers searched for a winner. Wolves brought on Kieran Trippier, Todd Cantwell and Oladapo Afolayan in quick succession, while Blackburn made four changes in the closing stages. David Møller Wolfe, André, Ryoya Morishita and Andri Guðjohnsen all saw action for Blackburn. The old head settled them down, but the game had already slipped away.
Wolves sit tenth with five games played and eight points, while Blackburn occupy nineteenth place with six matches and five points. The hosts had won three of their previous five fixtures, including two clean sheets, whereas Blackburn's form has been patchier with three defeats in six games. They are running out of games, but this result keeps them closer to the middle of the table than they might have feared.
