Wolves bag first Premier League season win without Hwang Hee-chan

Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Southampton 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday and secured their first league win of the season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha, left, shoots during the Premier League match against Southampton at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Southampton 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday and secured their first league win of the season. Wolves winger Hwang Hee-chan did not play in the fixture despite returning to training from the injury that kept him sidelined for nearly a month.

Pablo Sarabia opened the scoring just inside two minutes at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, latching onto a through ball from Matheus Cunha and slotting it in before goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale could get his hands on it.

Cunha doubled that lead in style, firing in a mid-range screamer in the 51st minute. The goal was his fifth in the league this season and later sealed an important three points.

With the season's first win, the Wolves have escaped the bottom of the table to sit in 18th place on the 20-team table as of press time Sunday.

Hwang was not in Saturday’s squad despite starting to train again before the fixture. The player has been out for almost a month with an injury he sustained during the 2026 World Cup qualifier between Korea and Jordan on Oct. 10.

Hwang has seen a poor start to the 2024-25 season, having yet to register a single goal or assist in eight matches across all competitions so far. His form is a contrast to last season in which he became the team’s top scorer with 12 goals in 29 league fixtures.

Hwang will be able to rest during the November international break when the Korean national team will play two qualifiers against Kuwait on Nov. 14 and Palestine on Nov. 19. The winger did not receive a national duty call this time due to the injury he had at the time of the roster announcement.

He is a regular winger pick for the national team where he has earned 69 caps and racked up 15 goals and 10 assists.

Wolves will return to action on Nov. 24 when they face Fulham in the Premier League.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]