Has Chris Wood scored the goals to essentially end the race to avoid Premier League relegation?
It’s early at the Molineux, but the Kiwi striker has scored a six-minute brace give Burnley a 2-0 lead over Wolves and put them on pace for a nine-point cushion above the bottom three.
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Given Newcastle’s draw with Liverpool, the fixture lists for Brighton, Fulham and West Brom, a Clarets win would leave little chance for anyone but the Cottagers and Baggies to go down to the Championship.
Wood’s first goal came off a Mathew Lowton assist, the New Zealand striker smashing a low drive past Rui Patricio from a tight angle.
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He got his second when Dwight McNeil zipped onto a sleepy pass and in front of Nelson Semedo, feeding Wood for a tap-in finish and a 2-0 lead in the 21st minute.
Wood, 29, has his eighth and ninth goals of the Premier League season, almost a third of Burnley’s league haul, and the Clarets for the moeent have climbed not one, nor two, but three places on the table thanks to goal differential advantages over Southampton and Newcastle.
He’s one goal away from a fourth-straight double-digit goal season in the Premier League.
That said, Burnley’s defense will have to hold out without conceding for an hour, having conceded 14 goals in its last seven matches and last keeping a clean sheet on Feb. 20 versus Burnley (a 0-0 draw).
Already New Zealand’s Premier League goals pacesetter, Chris Wood could also become the New Zealand player with the most PL appearances? At 131, another two seasons in the Premier League could close enough ground on Ryan Nelsen’s 198.
