Wolves 1-1 Sunderland: Ten-man visitors dealt a blow in race for Europe

Sunderland’s hopes of qualifying for Europe suffered a setback as they drew 1-1 with bottom club Wolves in the Premier League after having Dan Ballard sent off.

Regis Le Bris’ men had a chance to move into the top half on Saturday and reduce the gap to sixth place from four points, but the draw means they could find themselves five adrift by the end of the weekend.

The match at Molineux started positively for Sunderland, with Nordi Mukiele heading them in front from Granit Xhaka’s corner in the 17th minute.

However, Ballard was deemed to have pulled Tolu Arokodare’s hair when they vied for the ball and referee Paul Tierney dismissed him after reviewing footage on the pitchside monitor.

Rob Edwards switched to a back four for the second half and it was a move that quickly paid dividends thanks to Santiago Bueno heading them level within nine minutes of the restart.

Robin Roefs made impressive saves to keep Matheus Mane and Adam Armstrong at bay, but Wolves left themselves exposed as they searched for a winner.

Had substitute Wilson Isidor not woefully controlled a long ball from Roefs in the final 10 minutes, he would have had a chance to beat Wolves goalkeeper Dan Bentley in a one-on-one situation.

That was a wake-up call for Wolves, but they failed to complete the turnaround with Arokodare kneeing an effort over the top moments before the final whistle in a golden opportunity.

It ends level #WOLSUN pic.twitter.com/jkfqsl0L7C

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) May 2, 2026

Data Debrief: Wolves rue what might have been

Wolves’ numerical advantage meant they were able to create plenty of openings, with 20 attempts on goal being their highest in a single Premier League game this season.

Seven of those shots found the target – a tally Wolves have only bettered once this term (eight against West Ham in January).

It all went wrong for Sunderland after Ballard’s red card, which, at 24 minutes, was the earliest a player has been sent off in the Premier League with his team leading since May 2021, when Joao Cancelo was dismissed after 10 minutes when Manchester City were beating Brighton 1-0.

Man City went on to lose that game, and while Sunderland fared slightly better by at least claiming a draw here, their continental qualification hopes are beginning to look more unlikely after a run of just one point from three matches.