Wolves sleigh the Foxes in a pre-Christmas rout

Christmas came early for new manager Vitor Pereira as his Wolves team ran out 3-0 winners again fellow strugglers Leicester City. 3 huge points that puts us 18th in the table and only 2 points off safety. 

The man in charge of getting Wolves out of our dire situation made 4 changes to the loss against Ipswich. In came Sa, Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes, and Joao Gomes; who returned from a one game suspension. 

LINE UP 

Sa, Doherty, Bueno, Toti, Semedo, Andre, J.Gomes, R.Gomes, Guedes, Cunha, Strand Larsen

First Half

Wolves actually started the game fairly sloppily as multiple players were wasteful in possession and it was Leicester who had the first real opportunity as Vardy had Jose Sa quick off his line. Vardy beat the defence as he sat in between Toti and Bueno, a nice through ball had him through on goal 1 on 1 with Sa but the Wolves keeper was alert to the threat and made a wonderful block to deny the Foxes dangerman; Sa also cleared the danger just as another Leicester player looked to be in. 

Wolves did start to grow some composure in possession and despite Leicester’s dirty tactics to foul every Wolves player when possible, it was Wolves who broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. With Semedo picking up the ball in his own half, he played a lofted ball into the Leicester box where Guedes and Larsen had made intelligent runs, the latter held off his man which allowed Guedes to run onto the ball. The Portuguese man shrugged off former captain Coady to swivel and fire the ball into the far corner. A wonderful goal from a player brought back into the team under Pereira. 

From this moment on Wolves never really looked back and started to really click and cause Leicester problems. Guedes was involved in most of the good work as well, especially when hugging the touchline on the right hand side. Good intricate play and a back heel found Semedo steaming forward, he played it back to Guedes whose cross was just too high. 

The referee started to see sense and punished Leicester’s tactics as he brandished a few yellow cards in quick succession and put a stop to the constant fouling. 

Wolves continued to press and managed to capitalise on a glaring mistake from the Leicester defender in the 36th minute. A cross-field ball from Doherty should have been dealt with by the defender but instead allowed the ball to run to Rodrigo Gomes whose control and delicate touch played it past the keeper and into an empty net. A great moment for the young lad who scored his first Premier League goal. 

We did almost allow Leicester a ticket back into the match and the only real moment of comical defending we’ve seen so often this season. An innocuous cross should have been dealt with by Toti but he kicked the air and the ball fell to Vardy, albeit slightly behind him, and his shot was cleared off the line by Toti to redeem himself. This proved to be a key moment as Wolves went up the other end and put the game to bed just before half time. More great play as Guedes, on the goal line,  played in Cunha and his shot from a difficult angle found its way past the ‘keeper and into the back of the net. 3-0 up at half time and a 45 minute performance to have Wolves fans dreaming of a better future.

Second Half

Wolves lost the intensity during the second half and the only action after the re-start was when Sa took a knee to the head from Vardy. The former England international knew exactly what he was doing and instead of removing his leg to avoid Sa, left it there knowing he would collide with the Wolves keeper’s head. Wolves sat back and invited pressure but were resilient and compact and limited Leicester to very little. Santi Bueno has a good chance to make it 4-0 half way through the second 45 after a recycled corner found Cunha half way in Leicester’s half and he played a delightful ball in and Bueno’s header was just wide of the post. 

Leicester became void of any quality, effort and fight as Wolves was able to knock it around with ease, much to the displeasure of the home fans. But ole’s could be heard from the traveling fans in the corner to cheer every pass made. A cheeky free-kick from Cunha almost caught out the keeper as instead of crossing it in, he passed it around the wall but only found the side netting. After a very good first half, Guedes made way for Hwang late on in the second half, and although he tired in the 2nd, his performance was a stand out and hopefully Pereira can get the best out of the player. 

Wolves continued to see the game out very confidently. The back 3 of Doherty, Bueno, and Toti were solid throughout, they cleaned up everything that came their way, and apart from a few scary moments, didn’t look like conceding. Wolves continued to attack and should have been 4-0 up when Cunha crossed perfectly to the head of Joao Gomes but couldn’t keep it on target when it seemed easier to score. Cunha was relishing the freedom and even managed to stand still on the half way line with the ball and no Leicester players around him. Leicester fans obviously angered but it seemed more of a training pitch exercise than a Premier League game. 

Wolves saw out the game and took the huge 3 points back to Molinuex with an equally impressive clean sheet. A dream start for Vitor Pereira and his staff, and a win which gives all fans hope of a brighter second half of the season. Wolves 3, Leicester 0.