Wolves finally got their first Premier League win of the season against Southampton on Saturday.
Wolves moved up to 18th in the table, beating Russell Martin’s side 2-0 at Molineux.
It was a game Gary O’Neil simply had to win. It wasn’t pretty, and Wolves spent a lot of time without the ball.
But ultimately, Southampton did not threaten Jose Sa and Wolves had the quality in the right moments to win the game.
And it was Matheus Cunha who was the hero of the hour for Wolves, in front of a watching Ruben Neves, who was back at Molineux watching a game for the first time since leaving for Saudi Arabia.
Cunha assisted Pablo Sarabia in the first-half, and then scored a magnificent goal in the second.
After the game, former midfielder Dave Edwards made a big claim about Wolves’ talismanic number 10.
Dave Edwards says Matheus Cunha gave one of the best performances ever for Wolves
Wolves not sit on five points and Cunha has played a huge role in that tally.
The Brazilian is a highly influential player for Wanderers and keeping him fit is going to be so key for the rest of the season.
Gary O’Neil admitted Cunha can still ‘do better’ off the ball, but Edwards had high praise for the star.
Taking to X after the game, the former Wolves midfielder said: “Because of the pressure involved…this man gave one of the very best individual performances I have seen in an old gold shirt.”
| Matheus Cunha vs Southampton |
| Minutes played – 89 |
| Goals – 1 |
| Assists – 1 |
| Passes/completed – 15/17 (88%) |
| Touches – 34 |
| Dribbles/completed – 4/2 |
| Duels/won – 10/4 |
One fan replied to Edwards about Cunha suggesting that he had been ‘huffing and puffing’ and had looked ‘disinterested’ in the first-half.
But Edwards said: “He is a player who shows his emotions and sometimes in a negative way…but most importantly he can do the hardest things in football….create, score and remain composed in the big moments. Today he did that in abundance.”
Cunha is a game-changer for Wolves
It still wasn’t a top performance from Wolves against Southampton, but teams can get away with such displays when they have game-changers in their ranks.
Matheus Cunha certainly falls into this category.
He may sometimes show his emotions a bit too much, and allow his frustrations to boil over.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  LeicesterLeicester | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 10 |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 7 |
| 18 |  WolvesWolves | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 6 |
| 19 |  IpswichIpswich | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 5 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 21 | -14 | 4 |
But there is a strong argument that Cunha is Wolves’ best player, because he can produce moments of magic.
Some may not agree with Edwards that this was one of the best individual performances in a Wolves shirt. But Cunha may well have saved his manager’s job with his contributions.
The assist for Sarabia was brilliant and the goal was even better, against a backdrop of immense pressure and with the Wolves manager’s job potentially on the line.
Hopefully, Cunha can continue this purple patch for as long as possible. The longer he stays in this vein of form, the more likely it is for Wolves to pull away from danger.