Wolves defeated Sheffield United, the bottom team in the Premier League, at Molineux thanks to a header from Pablo Sarabia in the first half.
The Spain winger scored his third goal of the season for the home team by flicking a left-wing delivery from Rayan Ait-Nouri into the upper right corner while going completely unmarked.
With the win, Gary O’Neil’s team moves up to eighth place in the standings and increases their chances of playing in Europe the following season.
Sarabia’s header was the only effort on goal for Wolves until Joao Gomes’ late penalty kick. It was by no means a classic performance from the team, as their resolute opponents sat deep and tried to break quickly.
And while the result may not have satisfied manager Chris Wilder, the way the Blades performed will have, as his team created multiple excellent chances.
Sheffield United’s two greatest opportunities fell to James McAtee. Nevertheless, Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa comfortably stopped a meek first-half effort from the Manchester City midfielder on loan, and he fizzed a second-half shot just wide of the bottom right corner.
Rhian Brewster also had a chance to equalize after McAtee’s left-wing cross, but the forward, who had earlier sent a shot well wide from a promising position, was unable to get it past Portugal goalkeeper Sa.
But in the first half, Vinicius Souza and Jack Robinson, two of Wilder’s players, were squaring up and shoving one other, which would not have pleased the coach.
The visitors were embarrassed at the moment, since they are still eight points outside of safety and seem to be losing hope of making it through every time they lose.
Wolves take advantage of blunt Blades
This match will likely be remembered as a lost opportunity for the visiting team, leaving them to ponder on their journey back to Yorkshire how they failed to secure even a portion of the victory.
Sheffield United, based on the opportunities they generated, could argue they deserved their third league win since Wilder returned as manager in early December.
While they can draw some pride from their resilience after being thrashed by Brighton just over a week ago, it’s evident that they still struggle in both defense and attack.
The Blades have scored the fewest goals this season, while also conceding 66 goals, the highest at this point in a top-flight season since Ipswich Town allowed 74 after 26 matches in the 1963-64 campaign.
On the other hand, Sarabia’s precise header means Wolves have reached 40 goals in a top-flight campaign faster than they have since 1971-72.
Nevertheless, O’Neil knows his team must step up if they hope to progress when they face Brighton in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday at 19:45 GMT.