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Raul Jimenez's last goal for Wolves came in October 2020 in a 1-1 draw with NewcastleRaul Jimenez scored his first goal since suffering a life-threatening fractured skull as Wolves won at Southampton.
The Mexico forward grabbed the only goal of the match when he collected a long ball forward, showed great skill to evade two home defenders and finished calmly past Alex McCarthy.
Southampton previously had chances to open the scoring but Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa denied Adam Armstrong, Valentino Livramento and Mohamed Elyounoussi.
After Jimenez's goal, his first for Wolves since October 2020, the Saints had a chance for an equaliser but Che Adams' shot was saved and despite late home pressure, Wolves held on for the win.
Southampton remain without a Premier League victory this season and drop to 16th, while Wolves move above them up to 13th.
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Jimenez delight after long road to recovery
After Jimenez had scored, following a long ball from Sa and excellent work to evade defenders Jan Bednarek and Mohammed Salisu, the delight was clear for the 30-year-old as he ran towards the Wolves fans, leaping high in the air and screaming in delight.
It has been a long road to recovery after he sustained a serious injury following an accidental clash of heads with David Luiz early on during Wolves' Premier League game against Arsenal in November 2020.
Jimenez had received oxygen on the pitch before being carried off on a stretcher and was taken to hospital, where he had emergency surgery for a major traumatic brain injury and skull fracture.
He has since revealed that it "was a miracle" to be back playing football again and returned to action in pre-season in July.
Jimenez, who now has to wear a protective headguard, had played every minute of Wolves' previous five league matches, before he got the goal he desired an hour into their win at St Mary's.
He had a chance to get his second in stoppage time, but was denied by McCarthy with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Southampton have now drawn four matches and lost twice and are one of only five sides without a Premier League win this season.
It took them more than half an hour to have a shot on target, but they ended the first half strongly with Nathan Redmond having a goal ruled out for offside.
With Sa equal to anything that came his way, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl brought on Shane Long for his first league involvement of the season after he tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month, but the Republic of Ireland striker could not inspire an equaliser.
What's next?
Southampton play at Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 BST), with Wolves at home to Newcastle at the same time.
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Southampton
Squad number1Player nameMcCarthy
Squad number21Player nameLivramento
Squad number35Player nameBednarek- Squad number22Player nameSalisu
- Squad number2Player nameWalker-Peters
- Squad number24Player nameElyounoussi
Squad number6Player nameOriol Romeu
Squad number8Player nameWard-Prowse
Squad number11Player nameRedmond- Squad number10Player nameAdams
- Squad number9Player nameArmstrong
Squad number7Player nameLong- Squad number18Player nameBroja
- Squad number19Player nameDjenepo
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
Squad number23Player nameKilman
Squad number16Player nameCoady
Squad number27Player nameSaïss
Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
Squad number5Player nameMarçal
Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
Squad number9Player nameJiménez
Squad number26Player nameHwang Hee-Chan
Squad number2Player nameHoever
Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
Squad number37Player nameTraoré
Line-ups
Southampton
Formation 4-4-2
- 1McCarthy
- 21Livramento
- 35Bednarek
- 22Salisu
- 2Walker-PetersSubstituted forLongat 74'minutes
- 24Elyounoussi
- 6Romeu
- 8Ward-Prowse
- 11RedmondSubstituted forDjenepoat 64'minutes
- 10AdamsSubstituted forBrojaat 64'minutes
- 9Armstrong
Substitutes
- 4Silveira Neves Vojnovic
- 7Long
- 15Perraud
- 18Broja
- 19Djenepo
- 23Tella
- 27Diallo
- 43Valery
- 44Forster
Wolves
Formation 3-4-3
- 1Malheiro de Sá
- 23Kilman
- 16Coady
- 27Saïss
- 22Nélson SemedoSubstituted forHoeverat 87'minutes
- 28João Moutinho
- 32Dendoncker
- 5Marçal
- 10PodenceSubstituted forTraoréat 71'minutes
- 9Jiménez
- 26Hwang Hee-ChanSubstituted forNevesat 88'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Hoever
- 8Neves
- 11Machado Trincão
- 13Moulden
- 15Boly
- 17Fábio Silva
- 21Ruddy
- 37Traoré
- 39Cundle
Referee:Andy Madley
Attendance:28,002
Live Text
Match ends, Southampton 0, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1.
Second Half ends, Southampton 0, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1.
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Alex McCarthy.
Attempt saved. Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner.
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by João Moutinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Valentino Livramento (Southampton) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Marçal (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rúben Neves replaces Hwang Hee-Chan.
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Ki-Jana Hoever replaces Nélson Semedo.
Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Romain Saïss.
Attempt missed. Moussa Djenepo (Southampton) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jan Bednarek.
Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Romain Saïss.
Attempt blocked. Shane Long (Southampton) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Adam Armstrong.
Attempt missed. Adam Armstrong (Southampton) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Mohammed Salisu.
Foul by Adam Armstrong (Southampton).
Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Hand ball by Armando Broja (Southampton).
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Shane Long.
Foul by Mohamed Elyounoussi (Southampton).
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