Bournemouth beat Wolves at Molineux thanks to Eli Junior Kroupi’s powerful first-half strike, giving them back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since September.
Last-gasp winners against Liverpool last weekend, the Cherries struggled to test Jose Sa before the half-hour mark but seized the lead when Kroupi rifled a powerful, looping shot over the Wolves goalkeeper from just inside the penalty box.
Alex Scott sealed all three points for Bournemouth late in the second half by converting Cherries debutant Rayan’s low cross from the left.
The outcome was perhaps harsh on ailing Wolves, who created numerous chances as they looked to recover from last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City, their first loss in four league games.
Indeed, Rob Edwards’ squad felt they had taken an early lead when Mateus Mane headed Rodrigo Gomes’ cross in off the post after only seven minutes.
However, the hosts’ celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag, which indicated that Gomes had drifted marginally offside in the buildup to the teenager’s header.
Bournemouth came close to adding a second after Kroupi’s opening, but Amine Adli and Alex Jimenez were both denied by Sa on either side of halftime.
But Djordje Petrovic made a reflex save to deny Tolu Arokodare before Jorgen Strand Larsen, who has been linked with Leeds United and Crystal Palace this month, pulled a shot wide shortly after coming on.
Joao Gomes headed Hugo Bueno’s corner against the outside of the post as Wolves mounted strong pressure, but Scott scored in stoppage time to give manager Andoni Iraola a narrow victory in his 100th Premier League game in charge.
Iraola’s squad moves up to 12th place; however, they are only five points behind the top four despite having played one more game than the majority of the teams ahead of them.
