Raul Jimenez's Late Goal Secures Wolves Victory at Sheffield United

Raul Jimenez needed only one clear sight. One late swing of his right boot turned a tight, scrappy afternoon at Bramall Lane into a statement away win for Wolves.

The 35-year-old stepped off the bench and, in the 90th minute, swept home from close range to seal a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United, silencing the home crowd and sending the travelling fans into chaos behind the goal.

A cagey game, one huge call

For long spells, this never looked like a contest destined for late drama. Sheffield United, usually guaranteed goals at Bramall Lane – they had scored and conceded in 14 of their previous 15 Championship home games – barely laid a glove on Wolves before the break.

Chris Wilder’s side managed just two touches in the opposition box in the first half and produced an xG of only 0.06. That told its own story. They were neat enough in midfield, but blunt. The final pass never arrived, the runs never quite matched the delivery.

Wolves were hardly rampant, but they carried the greater threat. Marshall Munetsi forced the first real opening on 19 minutes when Rodrigo Gomes whipped in a sharp cross and the midfielder met it flush, only to fire straight at Michael Cooper. It was powerful, direct – and comfortable for the goalkeeper.

The afternoon’s flashpoint came five minutes after the restart. Mateus Mane flicked the ball towards goal, Mark McGuinness stretched out an arm, and the ball clearly struck it before spinning behind. Everyone in gold appealed. Referee Rob Jones pointed to the corner flag.

No penalty. No VAR. No reprieve.

On Sky Sports, Gary Rowett did not dance around it. “His arm comes out, it hits him on the end of the arm. I think Sheffield United have probably got away with one there,” he said. Inside the stadium, that was very much the away end’s view as well.

Blades edge forward, Wolves wait

The incident jolted the game. Sheffield United finally began to carry some menace.

Jordan Ayew, on debut, almost wrote himself into the script immediately. Cutting in from the right, he drove into the box and whipped a vicious cross-shot across the face of goal, inches past the far post. It was the first moment that truly unsettled Wolves.

Still, clear chances stayed rare. Hugo Bueno curled just wide from the edge of the area on 55 minutes after pouncing on a loose ball. Ladislav Krejci flirted with disaster when he hauled down Sydie Peck on the hour, already on a booking, but escaped with a warning. It felt like a game waiting for one mistake, one lapse, one flash of quality.

Wilder believed his side had handled that balance well.

“Especially in the second half, we limited a very attacking team to virtually nothing,” he told Sky Sports. “I don’t think Michael had a save to make. It’s just disappointing, with the positions we’ve got into, that we’ve not found that little bit of quality to get our noses in front.”

In the Championship, that missing moment usually costs you.

Jimenez delivers the punchline

Cesar Peixoto turned to his bench for that missing edge. Wolves’ head coach had spoken about the need to manage Jimenez carefully, with three games in the week and a 35-year-old captain whose minutes must be measured, not burned.

This time, the timing was perfect.

As the clock ticked towards stoppage time, Wolves finally pieced together the move they had been chasing. Andre found Kieran Trippier, Trippier slid the ball on to Tommy Doyle, and suddenly the angles opened. Doyle picked out Jimenez, lurking where strikers live – six yards out, in front of goal, waiting.

One touch. Low, precise, ruthless. Cooper had no chance. The away end exploded.

For Peixoto, it vindicated his plan and his faith in experience from the bench.

“It’s an important win for us,” he said. “Today, the team was a team for 90 minutes. It was important the guys who came from the bench pushed in the last minutes to try to score. We scored and we won.

“I think we deserved it because we were the better team, but it was a difficult game for us.

“He’s 35 years old, so we have to manage him the best way. He’s a key player for us. This week, we have three games, so we had to manage the options. Raul, as a captain, helped the team from the bench, not only with the goal he scored, but he helped to defend the set-pieces.”

Fine margins at the top end

Wilder cut a frustrated figure. His team had defended stoutly, ridden their luck with the penalty call, and still looked on course for a point that would have felt honest, if unspectacular.

“It’s top-end Championship football when you’re playing teams like we have done today,” he said. “They punish you if you just switch off for a moment.

The players maybe didn’t get what they deserved from the game, but that’s how the Championship is at times, so we have to roll with that and handle it.”

One moment of slackness. One sharp finish. On days like this, that is the dividing line between a solid draw and a gutting defeat – and between a promotion push gathering momentum and one that keeps stalling just when it threatens to move.