Liam BerRY discusses the Things we learnt from Wolves 1-0 Burnley
Wolves beat newly-promoted Burnley at Molineux, with a first-half goal from Hee Chan Hwang the difference.
Having lost two on the trot since the dramatic late win against Tottenham, Wolves needed to pick up points from a Clarets team who are currently struggling in the relegation zone after their return to the Premier League.
Let’s take a look at what we learnt from this fixture.
1. Hee Chan Hwang goal flurry
It’s crazy to think at one point Hwang was almost deemed surplus to requirements at Wolves, with speculation around his future and many fans calling for his departure.
Under Gary O’Neil he has resurrected his Wolves career, scoring his eighth goal in the Premier League, with six of those coming at Molineux.
He has been the reliant finisher for us this season, with his goal against Burnley a great example of his composure in front of goal. What a great start to the season for the ‘Korean guy’.
2. No Neto No Problem
Keeping on the topic of attackers, the loss of Pedro Neto through injury has not only been dealt with well, but has given the likes of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pablo Sarabia more minutes, and a chance to impress O’Neil.
After his incredible run of form, Neto sustained a hamstring injury against Newcastle in late October. With this being a huge miss for Wolves, they still have maintained their form and sourced goals through other threats. Since then, Bellegarde and Sarabia have picked up a few goals and assists in important games, most notably being that Tottenham drama, where the Spanish midfielder made a strong impact ultimately winning Wolves the game in the dying moments.
This not only proves the talent we have in our squad, but also the depth we have in attacking numbers. Even without our star player, we seem to be just as threatening going forwards, showing some promising signs from a squad with bags of potential.
3. Bentley a comfortable fit
With Jose Sa picking up an injury against league leaders Arsenal on the weekend, Dan Bentley has had to step in, and has kept a game-and-a-half clean sheet whilst doing so.
For large periods of the game Bentley was a passenger – see what I did there – but his outstanding double save at 0-0 then kept Wolves on terms and gave them the platform to go and get in front.
He also looked comfortable in possession and with his distribution.
It must give the squad a boost in confidence knowing both first team keepers can do a great job when called upon. A great game for the Englishmen who now has one-and-three-quarters clean sheets!
4. Cunha's return to form
It is very difficult to not talk about our attackers recently, but it simply has to be done.
With Hwang and Neto gaining much of the plaudits, Matheus Cunha has stayed somewhat under the radar. But the Brazilian has hit a rich vein of form recently, scoring two and assisting two in his past four games.
In the second half of the 2022/23 season, he only picked up two goals, but he has already doubled this tally, alongside his assist count of three.
We all know he is not an out-and-out striker, but he is the link that brings the play together. It’s so nice to see him do so well, as you can tell he embodies the club and the fans. Hopefully he can keep this going and become a great player for Wolves in the coming years.
5. Goals, Goals and Goals
Last season, it took until March 2023 for Wolves to reach the 20 goal mark. However, this season, it’s only taken them till December to do so.
For many years we have struggled to find the back of the net, and I can honestly say this is the first time in recent memory that I have been so confident in our attacking threat. We have scored in every game bar the opening fixture against Manchester United, and then we should have had a late penalty which might have brought a goal. That’s a crazy stat for Wolves in comparison to the last couple of seasons.
It’s been the missing piece in the jigsaw for a long time, and O’Neil has done a great job improving this. What is also notable is that he has done this with the players who he had at the club, so full credit to him and his coaching staff.
5. Goals, Goals and Goals
Last season, it took until March 2023 for Wolves to reach the 20 goal mark. However, this season, it’s only taken them till December to do so.
For many years we have struggled to find the back of the net, and I can honestly say this is the first time in recent memory that I have been so confident in our attacking threat. We have scored in every game bar the opening fixture against Manchester United, and then we should have had a late penalty which might have brought a goal. That’s a crazy stat for Wolves in comparison to the last couple of seasons.
It’s been the missing piece in the jigsaw for a long time, and O’Neil has done a great job improving this. What is also notable is that he has done this with the players who he had at the club, so full credit to him and his coaching staff.
ARTICLE BY LIAM BERRY
I am a life long Wolves fan that is passionate for the club. I am a sixth form student who loves writing about things I love!
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