Revitalised Burnley Move Out Of Bottom Three With Win Over Wolves

Burnley climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone and pushed Everton into the bottom three after Matej Vydra grabbed the 62nd minute winner in a tense 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Turf Moor on Sunday.

The Clarets have now claimed seven points from three games since sacking long-term manager Sean Dyche and move to 31 points from 33 games while Everton, who face Liverpool later on Sunday, have 29 points from 31 games.

Czech international Vydra slotted home the winner after Dwight McNeil’s perfect pass found Wout Weghorst and the Dutchman squared for a first-time finish from his strike partner.

Burnley, desperate for the three points in their bid for survival, then battled ferociously to hang on to the lead and despite Wolves enjoying plenty of possession, they did so with a degree of comfort.

In the eight days since Burnley chairman Alan Pace sacked Dyche and put Under-23 coach Mike Jackson in temporary charge, Burnley have drawn at West Ham United and then beaten Southampton and Wolves to give the Lancashire club a fighting chance of a seventh straight season in the top flight.

The home side had started slowly and Bruno Lage’s Wolves, eighth in the table, looked confident on the ball with Nick Pope doing well to keep out a Jonny Otto drive.

McNeil – one of the Burnley players who looks reborn since Dyche’s departure – then cut inside from the right and tested Jose Sa with a fiercely struck left-foot shot.

Pope had to be alert again after the break to keep out a Nelson Semedo effort following a strong break from deep by South Korean midfielder Hwang Hee-Chan.

Burnley also had the ball in the net when a Vydra shot saved by Sa ricocheted in off Conor Coady, but the Czech was ruled offside.

Vydra was able to celebrate though after his clinical first-time finish, and the Burnley fans then roared their team on until the final whistle.

Reuters