Wolves produced one of their most concerning displays this season as Bournemouth netted three penalties in a 4-2 victory at Molineux.
Wolves had the worst possible start to the game when Toti Gomes took down a Bournemouth man inside two minutes which resulted in a penalty.
After Justin Kluivert cooly dispatched from 12 yards, Jorgen Strand Larsen netted a quick equaliser to bring the game back on level terms two minutes later.
However, Wolves did not use this goal to their advantage and quickly conceded another two, one from Milos Kerkez and another from the spot thanks to Kluivert after an awful Jose Sa mistake.
Substitute Goncalo Guedes managed to get the hosts back into the game when he slipped Larsen in to make it 3-2 in the second half.
Yet, minutes later, a combination of mistakes from Craig Dawson and Sa led to another Bournemouth penalty which was converted by Kluivert for a hat-trick.
Now, with Wolves back in the relegation zone, Molineux News has graded the players after an awful evening.
GK – Jose Sa – 2/10
Made an absolutely catastrophic mistake with the first penalty. The goalkeeper simply can’t take as long as he did to kick the ball given the visitors’ early pressure. This resulted in him taking down Evanilson and gave Bournemouth an easy third just 18 minutes in.
For the second penalty, while the ball from Dawson was poor, the challenge was reckless and ruined any chance Wolves had of picking up a point.
RB – Nelson Semedo – 5/10
Picked up a silly yellow card for dissent after arguing with the referee over the first penalty. This means he will miss the Everton game after picking up five yellow cards over the course of the season.
While Nelson Semedo got into some good attacking positions, he was ultimately part of the backline that capitulated and lost the hosts the game.
CB – Mario Lemina – 6/10
The captain was easily beaten by Evanilson in the first half which could have led to a quickfire Bournemouth third.
Mario Lemina recovered well to prevent it from becoming 4-1 midway through the first half when he stopped Kluivert from going one-on-one.
In the second half, he produced a wonderful slide tackle to prevent a likely fourth goal once again.
Overall, he was the best of a bad bunch at the back but that isn’t too much of a compliment.
CB – Toti Gomes – 4/10
Gave away a stupid penalty within the first two minutes of the game. The Bournemouth man had few angles to get his shot away but went to ground regardless and subsequently gave the visitors a perfect opportunity to gain the lead.
From here, he struggled to maintain his discipline at the back which allowed Bournemouth to flood players forward as they looked like scoring every attack.
LB – Rayan Ait-Nouri – 5/10
Once again Rayan Ait-Nouri failed to perform his defensive abilities. While he once again showed he was capable in attack, his lack of discipline left the club too open in the first half.
RM – Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – 6/10
Sent in an absolutely delicious ball to Larsen to get Wolves immediately back on level terms. The power and the accuracy of the cross made it so the Norwegian striker couldn’t miss with his header.
However, from here he had relatively no impact on the game and went missing for large chunks. He was rightly taken off mid-way through the second half.
CM – Andre – 5/10
Andre’s worst game in an Old Gold shirt since he arrived at Wolves. The hosts had no control over the midfield in the opening exchanges which led to the collapse.
O’Neil needed his midfielders to step up after their equaliser but instead, they became passengers.
The Brazilian did better as the game went on, but it was already lost in the first 20 minutes.
CM – Joao Gomes – 5/10
Made a poor mistake when he gave the away early in the first half which ultimately led to Bournemouth’s second.
As the game went on, he settled more and regained control of the midfield, but by that point, it was too late to prevent a defeat.
CAM – Matheus Cunha – 6/10
Wolves’ main man simply could not get into the game. The forward had few chances and could not unlock the Bournemouth defence despite some good balls played into inviting areas.
LM – Rodrigo Gomes – 5/10
A tough game for the youngster. Wolves’ early defensive calamities meant that more would be expected from the winger to get the hosts back into the game.
Unfortunately, the youngster could not meet these needs and he was hooked at half-time for Dawson.
ST – Jorgen Strand Larsen – 8/10
Back amongst the goals again and what a signing Larsen is proving to be. The striker is exactly what Wolves have needed for years and he deservedly got another goal against the Cherries with an accurate header.
Following this, he almost set up Joao Gomes in the first half to make it 3-2 in the first-half.
He then netted a delightful second to get Wolves back into the game before this was quickly thrown away by the backline yet again. He simply didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.
Sub – Craig Dawson – 5/10
Came on to add some calm at the back but was not his usual self. Dawson made an awful pass to Sa which led to the rash challenge in the box from the ‘keeper.
As the game went on, Wolves continued to look like they were going to concede with every attack as Dawson did little to prevent their fluid football.
Sub – Goncalo Guedes – 7/10
What does this man have to do to get a start??!! Guedes had only been on the pitch for a few minutes before he slid a beautiful ball to Larsen for his second of the night.
He needs to be in the starting lineup on Wednesday night vs Everton.
Sub – Carlos Forbs – 6/10
Had no time to change the game.
Sub – Hwang Hee-Chan – 6/10
Had no time to change the game.