Wolves 0-4 Burnley: Chris Wood's first-half hat-trick eases relegation fears in style at Molineux

Burnley took a huge step towards Premier League safety as Chris Wood's first-half hat-trick set them on their way to a 4-0 win over Wolves at Molineux.

Wood twice capitalised on errors in a hapless Wolves defence inside the first half an hour of the match before completing his hat-trick before the break to put the result beyond doubt.

Sean Dyche's side have let a number of leads slip in recent weeks but Ashley Westwood's late strike capped an emphatic performance that surely ends any relegation fears as they move nine points clear of Fulham.

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How Burnley overpowered Wolves

Burnley looked the more aggressive team from the outset, their hunger palpable, while Wolves were off the pace. There was a warning of what was to come just moments before the opener.

Willy Boly's header back to Rui Patricio was misjudged and there were calls for a penalty as only a last-ditch tackle by the Ivorian prevented Matej Vydra from finding the net.

But there was to be no reprieve when Boly erred again soon after, missing his header completely before Wood did superbly to outfox Conor Coady and slam a fierce shot low into the corner.

Burnley were buoyed by that and six minutes later they doubled their lead after more slack play by the home side when Adama Traore's lay-off was sharply intercepted by Dwight McNeil.

Nelson Semedo had been on his heels and all McNeil had to do was to square the ball for Wood to slot in for his second of the afternoon and the New Zealander's ninth of the season.

Wolves were overrun by that point, the Burnley full-backs advancing with real purpose, and Vydra had a wonderful opportunity to make it three soon after only to volley over from close range.

Traore escaped further punishment for raising his hand in the face of Jack Cork following a scuffle in the Burnley box as Daniel Podence went to ground but the respite for Wolves was only temporary.

Just before half-time, a needlessly conceded corner brought Wood's third, nodding in McNeil's whipped cross to become only the second player to score a Premier League hat-trick for Burnley.

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If Wolves were hoping for the momentum to change in the second half, there was little sign of it. Vydra appeared to have made it four, rounding Patricio only for a VAR review to rule him offside.

Semedo was sacrificed with Traore switching to wing-back but that only allowed McNeil greater freedom to attack down the left, while Matt Lowton continued to enjoy himself on the right.

The full-back crashed a long-range effort low towards the corner that Patricio had to tip around the post as Burnley went in search of the fourth goal, their intensity only growing with confidence up.

It finally came after more good work from Wood, dribbling across the face of goal before setting up Westwood, whose powerful drive flew beyond Patricio and into the Wolves net once again.

It was no more than Burnley deserved, lifting them up to 14th at the final whistle, their dalliance with the drop surely over following this most convincing of wins.

Man of the Match: Chris Wood

Chris Wood scored in three consecutive matches recently so his form has been good but this was another level of performance as he overwhelmed the Wolves defence in a stunning first-half display.

They simply could not cope with his physicality but there was much more to his performance than that, not least the powerful finish for the first goal and the positional excellence for the second.

Wood is into double figures for the Premier League season now, alongside the more celebrated trio of Marcus Rashford, Callum Wilson and Danny Ings. This was his day.

What the managers said...

Nuno Espirito Santo: "Burnley had movement, we were not able to get out of their pressure, we were not able to keep possession.

"It is not about mentality or character, these are the same group of players. It is about not making the right decisions. The game requires mobility and we did not have it. As the game goes on, the mistakes increase and we were not able to settle down and play the game like we should."

Sean Dyche: "The reason why I signed Chris Wood is because he gets in the positions. There are certain things in football that are hard to coach, it is like an instinct. He does find a way. He is in good form, Woody.

"Over the last few games our performance level has been very good and deserved more than three losses, that's for sure. Today, we corrected that by correcting the details at both ends of the pitch. It was a very thorough performance."

Opta stats

• Burnley completed their first top-flight double over Wolves since the 1956-57 campaign, although the Clarets (7th) finished below Wolves (6th) in the table that season.

• Wolves' 0-4 loss to Burnley was their heaviest home Premier League defeat since March 2012, losing 0-5 against Manchester United.

• Burnley registered their biggest away win in the English top-flight since a 4-0 victory over Sunderland in November 1965.
• Chris Wood became just the third player to score an away first half Premier League hat-trick after Chris Sutton for Blackburn vs Aston Villa in August 1997 and Michael Owen for Liverpool vs Newcastle in August 1998.

What's next?

Regardless of the circumstances of their season, it is a huge game for Wolves next up as they travel to the Hawthorns for the Black Country derby against West Brom on Monday Night Football.

Burnley are also in action on that Monday Night Football as they host West Ham, before they go to Fulham on the following Monday in a game that no longer looks as daunting as it once did.

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