Burnley 1-1 Wolves: Unbeaten run continues but gap to safety grows following frustrating draw

Jacob Bruun Larsen gave Burnley hope of securing a much-needed victory in their bid to fight off relegation when he gave the hosts the lead with a sumptuous first-time strike.

But Vincent Kompany’s men suffered a suckerpunch on the stroke of half-time, conceding with the last kick of the half when Rayan Ait-Nouri headed home unmarked.

Try as they might to find the winner in the second-half, the Clarets ran out of steam a little bit - forcing them to settle for a point, which does at least extend their unbeaten run to four.

With Nottingham Forest beating Fulham, it leaves the Clarets six points adrift of safety ahead of Saturday’s must-win encounter against fellow relegation rivals Everton.

Kompany opted to make two changes from the weekend draw against Chelsea, albeit one was enforced, with Lorenz Assignon missing out through suspension.

Charlie Taylor took his place in the side, which saw Vitinho switch over to the right-hand side of defence.

Elsewhere, David Fofana came straight back into the side after being ineligible to face his parent club at the weekend.

Zeki Amdouni was the man to make way, which meant Fofana and Lyle Foster were partnered together for the first time, albeit Foster began the game out on the right.

Ameen Al-Dakhil, Jordan Beyer, Han-Noah Massengo, Aaron Ramsey, Luca Koleosho and Nathan Redmond all remain sidelined.

James Trafford, meanwhile, missed out through illness, so Lawrence Vigouroux took his place on the bench.

As for Wolves, they made two changes from their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, as Matt Doherty and Hugeo Bueno came into their starting XI.

Dangerman Matheus Cunha returned from injury to be named among the substitutes.

Burnley squandered a good chance to threaten the Wolves goal as early as the third minute when Wilson Odobert looked to pick out the unmarked Jacob Bruun Larsen, but Odobert’s pass was behind his teammate and the visitors were able to get back and crowd him out.

It was a lively start to the game, with Burnley looking confident in possession - yet Wolves were able to exploit some early gaps when they attacked.

Foster, who was full of endeavour and industry playing out on the right, turned cleverly on the flank before picking out Fofana with a clever ball, but the Chelsea loanee couldn’t get the ball out of his feet to get a shot off at goal.

At the other end, Wolves threatened to open the scoring when they broke through Burnley’s backline but Vitinho surged back to make a vital interception.

Joao Gomes then squandered a gilt-edged chance for the visitors when he headed wastefully wide from just five or six yards out.

Turf Moor, which was already rocking, truly erupted eight minutes before the break when Jacob Bruun Larsen opened the scoring.

It was a sumptuous first-time effort from the winger too, sweeping home from Dara O’Shea’s pinpoint cross.

Unfortunately the Clarets weren’t able to hold onto the lead until the half-time interval, with Wolves levelling with the last kick of the half through Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The full-back was left completely unmarked to head home from a crossed free-kick, which looked very dubious to begin with.

But after a promising first 45 minutes, it was a huge suckerpunch for Kompany’s men to concede so late on into the half.

Things would have got even worse at the start of the second-half if it wasn’t for Arijanet Muric, who stood up to make a crucial save to deny Ait-Nouri a second.

Burnley were otherwise well on top, with Bruun Larsen almost adding his second of the game when his close range effort from Vitinho’s pullback was well saved by Sa’s legs.

The Wolves keeper came to his side’s rescue soon after too, pushing away Odobert’s snapshot in unorthodox fashion.

Entering a nervy final 20 minutes, Wolves almost found themselves in on goal through Vitinho of all people, with his back pass - if you can even call it that - ricocheting back towards the Burnley goal, but Muric was off his line in a flash to make the clearance.

Kompany threw caution to the wind with his first change of the night, introducing Jay Rodriguez for winger and goalscorer Bruun Larsen, leaving the Clarets with three strikers on the pitch.

Burnley pushed for that late winner but they ran out of steam, lacking that same zip in their passing and lacking quality in the final third.

Wolves almost snatched it five minutes from time when Mario Lemina headed inches wide, with Muric left completely rooted to the spot.

Rodriguez did force the ball home with just two minutes left on the clock, but he was well offside, before fellow sub Manuel Benson saw one of his trademark shots parried behind by Sa.

TEAMS

Burnley: Muric, Vitinho, O'Shea, Esteve, Taylor, Cullen, Berge, Bruun Larsen (Rodriguez), Odobert, Foster (Benson), Fofana

Subs not used: Vigouroux, Delcroix, Ekdal, Cork, Brownhill, Gudmundsson, Amdouni

Wolves: Sa, Doherty, Kilman, Ait-Nour, Semedo, Toti, M. Lermina, Gomes, H. Bueno (S. Bueno), Sarabia (Traore), Chiwome (Cunha)

Subs not used: Bentley, P. Lemina, Doyle, Barnett, Chirewa, Fraser

Referee: Thomas Bramall