Wolves 1 Chelsea 0
Many of us have questioned whether some of this Wolves squad have the stomach for a relegation fight.
Based on yesterday’s win, it’s an emphatic yes.
Most pleasing was the appetite for hard work. Some North Bank natives probably had enough of me standing up and applauding a particular piece of pressing or defending.
But I was excitable because the lads were finally showing some character.
Admittedly it was a poor Chelsea side, but for large periods we didn’t give them a minute’s rest. An old gold and black shirt was either pressing a Chelsea player off the ball or perfectly positioned for an interception.
Kudos to Lopetegui for playing his part with the selection of a balanced side especially the midfield of Lemina, Nunes and Gomes.
If you looked up workhorse in the dictionary, you’d find Lemina. A lot of his work goes unnoticed but subtly he’s bossing the base of our midfield, which allowed Gomes and Nunes to push on.
The former looked much more assured than his Leeds performance. Gomes is technically sound but isn’t afraid of a tackle or a spot of pressing either.
Regarding Nunes, that was probably his best Wolves performance. Play him in his best position where he can bomb on and we have a player on our hands. As for the finish, I was right behind the shot and it felt like a missile was heading straight towards me.
A word for Toti too. Like all of the defence yesterday, the work he got through was exemplary, whether that was sniffing out danger or a last-ditch tackle. Toti obviously isn’t a natural going forward, but he held his own.
The front three worked too. Cunha, Costa and Podence perhaps weren’t at their very creative best, but they linked up nicely at times and understood the need to cut out the fancy flicks. We all know Costa isn’t the player of old, but he still has something to offer leading the line. He must start there in our remaining games.
Talking of games ahead, it’s amazing to think that there’s eight left, but if we beat Brentford on Saturday then we’re almost safe. I don’t think my heart could take our safety still up for question in the last home game against Everton.