Wolves crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Crystal Palace in their final home game of the Premier League season – and Alan Shearer says Gary O’Neil’s side struggled against one player in particular.
Wanderers could not give the Molineux faithful something to cheer at the weekend, as a rejuvenated Palace side took all three points.
Wolves have been struggling over the last few weeks, with the players really feeling the pinch now.
Gary O’Neil hasn’t really done too much rotating this season as a result of having a small squad, and there have been tired legs in recent matches.
It is a real shame, because at one point European football was very much a possibility.
But Wolves have just ran out of steam, and against Palace one man got rather a lot of joy against the home side…
Alan Shearer claims Wolves couldn’t handle Crystal Palace striker Jean Philippe-Mateta
Alan Shearer has selected his latest Premier League Team of the Week, and there was an inclusion for Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Frenchman was one of the big threats coming into the game, and was always going to give Max Kilman a good battle.
Unfortunately for the Molineux captain, Mateta did have a strong influence for the Eagles.
He won 4/5 of the duels he contested (via Sofascore), and Mateta found space in the area to score the visitors’ second goal after Nathaniel Clyne hit the post.
That was his 10th goal under Glasner, and Mateta is officially the most clinical player in the Premier League (via WhoScored).
Shearer said when picking him for his Team of the Week (via premierleague.com): “The striker could not be handled by Wolves as the Frenchman added another goal to his growing tally under manager Oliver Glasner.”
Wolves need someone like Mateta
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So Shearer reckons Wolves just couldn’t handle Mateta on Saturday, and he has certainly shone for the Eagles this term.
The £50,000-a-week man has been in sensational form since Glasner came in at Selhurst Park, and looks to be a real handful, as Wolves found out first-hand.
Wolves could perhaps do with someone in the same mould as the former Mainz centre-forward.
At the moment, O’Neil has the speedy trio of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto, but doesn’t really have a penalty box predator.
Sasa Kalajdzic wasn’t really fancied by O’Neil, but Mateta is more mobile than the Austrian and O’neil surely wouldn’t be opposed to having someone like that in his squad for next season.
We shall see what happens this summer. But bringing in a striker with an eye for goal who is also a big handful doesn’t seem like the worst shout.