Some players just refuse to quit. Jamie Vardy is 39, and on Friday night he scored yet again. Good for him. Sadly for Burnley, it didn’t matter. Wolves came back at Turf Moor and won 2 to 1, and the home fans went home grumbling.
If you stayed up for it, you saw a late kick off for us in South Africa, 9pm to be exact. Here’s how the night went.
Vardy makes history at 39
First, the headline fact. This goal means Vardy has now scored in 20 seasons in a row. Think about that for a second. Most strikers are retired or coaching by his age, and he’s still beating defenders for pace.
The goal came in the 20th minute. Jacob Bruun Larsen picked him out with a lovely ball, and Vardy didn’t need a second invitation. He ran in behind the Wolves back line and slotted it past José Sá with his left foot. It looked easy. It never is.
He’d already tested Sá about ten minutes earlier, and the keeper got a strong left arm to it. The second effort went in.
It was his first goal for burnley since he signed a one year deal in September. It was also his first in the Championship since April 2024, when he scored for Leicester City against Preston North End. His last goal anywhere in English football was on 18 May 2025, so there had been a bit of a wait.
A career built from nothing
You probably know the Vardy story already, but it’s worth a quick reminder. He came from non league football. Nobody handed him anything. He spent 13 years at Leicester, scoring over 180 goals in more than 400 games, and he was a huge part of their Premier League title in 2016. Even now people struggle to believe that one happened. He also won the Golden Boot along the way.
After Leicester he went to Cremonese in Italy and scored seven times in 29 games, though the club got relegated from Serie A. Then Burnley came calling. They’d just dropped out of the Premier League themselves, and when he signed, they were bottom of the Championship with no win yet. So you can see why they wanted him. A proven scorer, some experience, and a name that lifts the dressing room.
Whether burnley fc can build a season around a 39 year old is another matter.
How Wolves turned the game around
Burnley were good in the first half, honestly. They could have been two up. But football punishes missed chances.
Right before the break, Kyle Walker lost the ball close to his own area. Sean Neave grabbed it and found Fer Lopez, and his shot clipped the inside of the left post on the way in. Just like that, 1 to 1.
After half time it got scrappy. Neither side really took charge, though Wolves looked a little hungrier. Then Igor’s bad touch gave them a gift. Mateus Mane played the ball through, and substitute Tawanda Chirewa ran on and finished. He’d been on the pitch for 21 seconds. Think about that. Twenty one seconds, his first goal for the club, and it won the match in the 72nd minute.
The club said it was their first win at Turf Moor against Burnley in 16 years. If you want the full report in their words, it’s on the official Wolves website.
The numbers in the burnley vs wolves game
The stats mostly match what people saw on the pitch. Wolves had the ball more and created more. A quick look:
| Statistic | Burnley | Wolves |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 47% | 53% |
| Total shots | 15 | 20 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 8 |
| Expected goals | 1.00 | 1.82 |
Burnley weren’t bad. They had spells, especially early. But Wolves hit the target twice as often, and that tells you plenty.
Burnley’s home problem gets worse
Here’s the part that must hurt. This defeat made it 21 league games without a home win for Burnley. Their last one was a 2 to 0 over Leeds on 18 October 2025, and the one year mark arrives on Sunday. Since then it’s been 11 losses and 10 draws at Turf Moor. No team in the top four divisions of English football has gone as long.
The fans booed at full time. Hard to argue with them, really.
This was also the fifth league defeat of the season, and manager Nicky Hayen is under real pressure. He said people will keep bringing up the home record, and he’s right. They will. Only a win stops that talk.
The real issue is at the back. Both Wolves goals came from Burnley mistakes, not from some clever move. Fixing that isn’t easy, but it’s a simple place to begin.
Burnley f.c. vs Wolverhampton Wanderers f.c. standings
So where does that leave the table? Here’s how the burnley f.c. vs wolverhampton wanderers f.c. standings look after Friday:
| Club | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wolves | 6th | 17 points, 5 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses |
| Burnley | 4th from bottom | Above the drop zone on goal difference |
Wolves are level on points with Birmingham City, QPR and West Brom, so it’s crowded up there. Burnley are only just clear of the relegation places. One more slip and they’re in trouble.
For the full table, the official EFL website is the best place to check.
What it means going forward
For wolves, it was a timely win. They hadn’t won in two games, and this got them back into the top six. Expect a better mood in the camp this week.
Burnley are in a tougher spot. They’d shown small signs of life before Friday, and now it’s back to questions. Vardy gives them something to cheer about, but he can’t defend for the team too.
Credit to him, though. At 39 he still reads the game better than most. If the players around him can supply a few more good passes, he’ll add to his tally. That would at least give Burnley fans something to enjoy.
Why South African fans care
English football is massive here. Plenty of us remember the Leicester title run, and Vardy was the face of it. A guy who worked his way up from the lower leagues? South Africans love that kind of story. Wolves supporters in the country will also be pleased with this result.
Final word
Vardy did his bit, and the record is a proud one. Still, Wolves took the points, and that’s what counts. Burnley now have another week of difficult questions.
Ask me what went wrong and I’ll say defensive errors. Ask me what went right and the answer is Vardy, who just keeps scoring. We’ll see if either of those changes soon.
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