Wolves climbed to fifth after first-half goals from João Moutinho and Raúl Jiménez brushed aside a slovenly Bournemouth, who had the returning club captain, Simon Francis, sent off before the interval. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side turned in a peerless display, with Moutinho’s sublime free-kick setting Wolves en route to victory before Jiménez, one of the division’s best predators, doubled their advantage with his 14th goal of the season, prompting fans to unfurl a
Mexico flag in the away end. Steve Cook pulled a goal back but Wolves extended their unbeaten streak to eight league matches.
Eddie Howe’s side appear on a slippery slope, having won only one of their past eight matches. It does not get any easier either, with a trip to
Tottenham Hotspur next – José Mourinho’s first home game in charge – and dates with
Liverpool,
Arsenal and
Chelsea to follow in December. This was a pedestrian performance from a Bournemouth perspective, tepid from the start and, in truth, they were fortunate to trail by only two goals at the interval, with Cook denying Jiménez a second off the line. “The first half must be our reference for the way we want to proceed,” Espírito Santo said.