Brighton close in on European football with thrashing of relegated Wolves

The home team got off to an ideal beginning when Jack Hinshelwood opened the scoring just 36 seconds in, by nodding in the ball after Maxim De Cuyper's superb cross from the left side, marking his fourth league strike this campaign.

The away side's troubles mounted rapidly, with poor marking letting Lewis Dunk nod home easily from near range off De Cuyper's curling corner.

Brighton showed no mercy to their demoted rivals and nearly netted a third goal around the 15 minute mark, with Kaoru Mitoma firing wide into the side netting from a prime spot.

Fabian Hurzeler's squad kept control as the opening period wore on, forcing Wolves' keeper Daniel Bentley into a fine stop to thwart Danny Welbeck from scoring.

The break arrived just in time for Rob Edwards, since despite no more goals for the hosts before half time, the visitors managed zero attempts on target during that spell.

Wolves looked slightly better at the start of the second half and almost pulled one back on 53 minutes, as Yerson Mosquera's point blank header from Mateus Mane's delivery clipped the crossbar.

Brighton suffered a setback just before the hour, with Mitoma limping off due to what seemed like a hamstring problem.

As the game wound down, the hosts sealed the win in the 86th minute when Yankuba Minteh rifled home after the Wolves backline bungled a clearance.

The Seagulls now boast three straight home wins in the Premier League and head to Elland Road to take on Leeds United next Saturday.

Wolves stay anchored at the foot of the standings and remain without a single away victory in the league from Molineux this term.