Wolves lost their opening game to Manchester United on Monday night – but the praise for Gary O’Neil’s side has been plentiful since the game.
Wanderers rocked up at Old Trafford with most people predicting an easy win for the home side.
The Red Devils did indeed win the game.
But the 1-0 result did not reflect how the game went at all.
Wolves were much the better side, and played some brilliant football at times. Even Bruno Fernandes acknowledged Wolves as being a good side after the game.
Every player worked their socks off, and it was so refreshing to see people being bold on the ball, rather than being conservative.
And Nedum Onuoha, who watched the game for ESPN FC, was blown away by one thing Wolves kept doing in the game.
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Nedum Onuoha really impressed with how Wolves players kept driving through United
One of the most impressive aspects of last night’s game was how often a Wolves player would take the ball and run with it.
It was as though O’Neil specifically instructed that, and boy did the players listen.
Matheus Cunha, Matheus Nunes, Pedro Neto, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Joao Gomes all had the confidence to run with the ball, and often they left United’s players for dead.
Onuoha said: “Wolves just looked like a very well drilled side. I thought they played well. Their ability to break through United’s lines by people running with the ball. I think that is a big concern (for United).
“It wasn’t just Cunha. Sometimes it was Ait-Nouri, sometimes it was others, there were three or four that could just all of a sudden make a break. And then it would be like they had a numerical advantage driving towards United’s goal. It was astonishing to see.”
Wolves have some brilliant ball carriers
It was thrilling to see so many Wolves players taking the ball and just driving forwards last night.
The pitch was very greasy because of the weather, which prompted both teams to be a bit sloppy on the ball at times.
So it made sense to have people carrying the ball more often, as opposed to passing through the lines and risking giving the ball away.
Wolves fans will no doubt want to see more of this moving forwards.
Players like Cunha, Nunes and Ait-Nouri are absolutely brilliant at running with the ball.