Wolves have finally recorded their first win in the Premier League in 2025/26, beating West Ham United 3-0 at Molineux.
It has been a dismal season, but fans finally had something to cheer today, as the Old Gold put in a superb performance to defeat the Hammers.
Wolves did all their damage in the first-half, with Jhon Arias opening the scoring inside five minutes to open his account for the club.
Who was your MOTM during that brilliant 3-0 win for Wolves? 🤩
Hwang Hee-chan doubled Wolves’ lead from the penalty spot, before Mateus Mane provided a moment of brilliance to make it three.
Wolves had looked good against Manchester United in the previous game, and there had been suggestions that this win was coming.
But Wolves still had to get the job done today, and the players and Rob Edwards can be proud of themselves.
Here are a few takeaways from the best result of the season.
Mateus Mane is a special prospect
Molineux News readers thought Mane was the standout player against United – and he was absolutely superb again against West Ham.
Mateus Mane again played as a number eight, and showed the confidence we have been used to seeing from him.
He showed he meant business with how he rolled his marker in the build-up to the first goal by Jhon Arias.
Mane then won the penalty which Hwang scored, before brilliantly finding the corner to score his first goal for the club.
And make no mistake about it, this goal was definitely something out of the Matheus Cunha’s catalogue. The more you watch Mane play, the more it feels like he actually could be a replacement for the Brazilian. That confidence, driving with the ball and x-factor are all things he had that we are now seeing in the teenager.
The 18-year-old is now Wolves’ main man, and one suspects his profile is about to start growing considerably.
Jhon Arias looks well suited to midfield role
Rob Edwards may well have stumbled upon a solution to the issue that has been the Andre and Joao Gomes partnership, in the form of Jhon Arias.
Many have said that Andre and Gomes are too similar, but the introduction of Arias appears to have changed Wolves for the better.
Today he played as a number eight again alongside Mane, with Gomes in behind. Gomes then went off at half-time, with Andre replacing him.
Throughout, Arias just looked so busy. As per Sofascore, he made eight defensive contributions – no Wolves player made more in the game. And of course, he finally scored his first goal after ghosting into the box.
He ran his socks off, and that number eight role really does look to suit him.
Jose Sa is vindicating his recall
Jose Sa started for the third game running for Wolves – and this really was a great performance from the Portuguese.
He was a bit chaotic against United, although he still gave a pretty decent performance on the whole, making several saves.
West Ham weren’t as threatening as United, but they did hoist the ball into the box a lot – but Sa was totally commanding.
He punched the ball clear countless times today, and just looked an authoritative figure between the sticks. Sam Johnstone looks like he has work to do to get back in again.
WOW 😍. What is your message to Rob Edwards after that performance, Wolves fans?
Hwang Hee-chan gave his best performance of the season
Hwang Hee-chan deserves his flowers today. Against West Ham, the South Korean was absolutely superb.
Hwang made an instant impact by setting up Arias for his first Wolves goal.
He then showed a lot of courage by stepping up to take the penalty. Hwang missed the last one he took in the Carabao Cup back in August – also against West Ham – but this time he made no mistake, sending his effort down the middle with aplomb.
Those two goal contributions clearly had a big impact on him then. He played with real confidence as he got involved in the build up.
Sadly, he had to go off with an injury, and hopefully that is not too serious. Because a Hwang purple patch certainly wouldn’t harm Wolves’ cause.
There may be hope yet for Wolves
Today’s result means Wolves have closed the gap to safety to 12 points.
There is still a mountain to climb for Wolves in terms of staying up. But this performance was massively encouraging, and it follows great showings against Liverpool and Manchester United.
Hopefully it’s a case of New Year, New Wolves. Certainly, Rob Edwards has improved this side and who knows, with a good January, perhaps the Old Gold can yet make a fist of staying up.
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