LIAM BERRY DISCUSSES THE THINGS WE LEARNT FROM WOLVES WIN OVER MAN CITY
Wolves ended Manchester City’s perfect start to their Premier League campaign by completing a shock result with a superb victory at Molineux.
Many would have said this game was a free hit, but Gary O’Neil and Wolves had something to say about that!
After being knocked out of the Carabao Cup to Championship side Ipswich Town in midweek, Wolves had the daunting task of facing the best team in the world, to quote O’Neil’s words. But Wolves took this match as an opportunity to change their fortunes after a below par start to the season, and they did it in emphatic style!
Let’s take a look into what we learnt from this incredible result.
1. NETO FLASHBACKS
There is no Premier League player with more assists than Pedro Neto so far this season, and the winger is showing signs that he is back to his best after being troubled with injuries in recent times.
Neto ran the show yet again, taking the ball in his own half and forcing a Ruben Dias own goal for the opener, which gave Wolves the platform to defend a lead.
It’s clear that he has been given more license to attack going forwards, which has also allowed others such as Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri to thrive in this Wolves side. Some promising signs from our young talent. Neto is very much back!
2. 'THE KOREAN GUY'
In his press conference before the meeting with Wolves, Pep Guardiola seemingly forgot Hee Chan Hwang’s name, referring to him as ‘The Korean Guy’.
A day later, Hwang netted his fifth goal of the season which ultimately won Wolves the game, so maybe Pep will remember his name from now on!
Despite Pep’s faux-pas, which was also seized upon by Wolves’ media team, Hwang has almost had a second coming so far this season, and the Korean international is close to equalling last season’s top goalscorer tally already. His form has given Wolves a goalscoring threat, which has been so desperately needed for some time. A really good start for the forward whose finishing has been excellent – long may it continue.
3. ONE PACK
The game on Saturday showed a real togetherness in the team, and the players ran their hearts out for the badge.
With the club’s policy to only sign players who they feel are committed to representing Wolves, maybe this team spirit is their differential factor that can win them more points this season and aim higher in the table.
Hopefully the players can use this result as a confidence booster and continue their hard work and progression under O’Neil, which seemed to have stalled a little in the previous two performances.
4. ON OUR WAY BACK
O’Neil opted for a back five formation, which ended up working really well.
The defence had a really good balance against Manchester City, with each of the defenders offering something different, and the likes of Dawson, Kilman and Toti all well suited to defending deep and making headers and blocks. One of Dawson’s interceptions to deny Haaland before Wolves’ first goal went a long way to helping win the match.
Maybe going back to our recent roots is going to be the way forward. With the players in the squad, I think the five back which fans fell in love with under Nuno compliments our squad, so it will be interesting if this is how Wolves shape up for the rest of the season. At the same time, I am sure O’Neil won’t want to defend so deeply against teams who are not at the same standard as Manchester City, but it will definitely have given him some positives to think about.
4. O'NEIL MASTERCLASS
The head coach received a lot of stick over the past couple of weeks, after drawing with Luton and losing to Ipswich.
And yet, just as the pressure was starting to mount, Wolves’ Head Coach pulled off what many people would have said was impossible.
Credit where credit is due, he got it absolutely spot on. His tactical approach to this game couldn’t have been any better, and the players followed on with his gameplan and executed it to perfection. Massive praise to him and his staff, and hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Given he took charge so close to the start of the season, it was always going to take time to completely get his ideas across, and that is also probably going to lead to inconsistent results from time to time. But this, the biggest win of his managerial career so far, should give everyone so much to build on.
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!