Wolves secured an impressive 2-1 victory over Fulham this afternoon and one player in particular stood out at Molineux.
After losing in disappointing fashion against Newcastle United last weekend, Gary O’Neil’s men needed to show a response and they did.
Rayan Ait-Nouri clinically dispatched his chance into the roof of the net on his weaker right foot before a Tom Cairney own goal gave the hosts a 2-0 cushion.
Fulham did score in the dying embers through Alex Iwobi in the 98th minute but it was ultimately too late as Wolves moved up to eighth in the table, a point behind seventh-place West Ham.
Although O’Neil will be pleased with the manner of victory, he was left devastated when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pedro Neto were forced off with injuries in the first half.
Luckily, the performance of Ait-Nouri softened the blow of losing his most influential player Neto.
Rayan Ait-Nouri hailed as Wolves’ best player against Fulham
The powerful Algerian has been tremendous for the Wanderers throughout this season and has played his best football under O’Neil.
That continued this afternoon as he got his name on the scoresheet and was then even shifted into a makeshift striker position in the second half, which shows how bad the injury pile-up is at Molineux.
Nonetheless, the 22-year-old was superb all afternoon from a defensive and attacking perspective.
He won an impressive six ground duels, completed 90% of his passes, drew four fouls and was a constant menace for the Fulham defence to deal with, and even still caused problems centrally.
As a result, journalist Liam Keen described him as the “best player” on the pitch and such praise was deserving for a talent who continues to go from strength to strength in a Wolves shirt.
What a season Ait-Nouri is having
In their pursuit of Europe and FA Cup glory, Ait-Nouri has been a mainstay down the left side and poor Hugo Bueno has struggled to get a look in.
While O’Neil says the Spaniard has a big part to pay between now and the end of the season, it’s impossible to drop his current starting left wing-back as he’s been simply brilliant.
From his explosive runs down the left flank to his ability to now deliver in the final third, the youngster has improved so much under O’Neil and will likely attract further Premier League interest.
However, supporters will be hoping he remains at the club for years to come, especially if he continues to deliver those level of displays.