Wolves are currently watching their side struggle under Gary O’Neil, but it’s happier times for former manager Bruno Lage.
Wanderers have had a very tough start to 2024/25 and pressure mounting on O’Neil.
Currently, his job is not thought to be under threat.
But the Englishman could do with picking up some results soon, with Wolves currently bottom of the table.
Some Wolves fans have made comparisons between O’Neil and Lage, who enjoyed a solid first season in charge at Molineux, before losing his job shortly into his second term.
In fact, it was pretty much at this exact point in his second season – early October – that he was sacked by the board, following a 2-0 away defeat by West Ham United.
It was the right time for Lage to go, but the Portuguese is now in a much better place in his career.
Former Wolves manager Bruno Lage takes Benfica third in the Champions League table
The Champions League has been back this week – and last night, Benfica got their second win in the competition.
They recorded a highly impressive 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid, a side that have fared well in the competition over Diego Simeone down the years.
Benfica just had too much for their Spanish opponents, and are already looking good for automatic qualification as one of the top eight sides to the last 16.
It was a dominant display by Benfica, who had 19 shots in the game, 10 of which were on target. Atleti had just four, with zero on target.
Previously, Benfica had beaten Red Star Belgrade 2-1 away.
Lage has made terrific start
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Lage has not only been successful in the Champions League, he’s also got Benfica up to third in the Portuguese table.
After taking over from Roger Schmidt at the start of September, Lage – who’d had a poor stint at Botafogo – has now overseen five games as manager in his second stint. He has won all five games, with the team scoring 18 goals and conceding just three.
In the league, he’s beaten Santa Clara (4-1), Boavista (3-0) and Gil Vicente (5-1) so far.
It did not work out for Lage at Wolves but clearly, he has plenty about him. He has since spoken about his time at the club, and admitted that he should have been more forceful with his superiors in some moments.
Lage, of course, won the league title with Benfica before pitching up at Molineux. He and the club seem to be a match made in heaven, and their fans will now dream of more success.
Lage was probably right to be sacked by Wolves when he was.
Towards the end, it was thought that his methods frustrated players and the suggestion was that he lost players in the dressing room.
But clearly, from a tactical standpoint, he is a good manager. Last night’s result and performance was evidence of that. Had he had better backing from his superiors at Wolves, who knows where he might have taken the team.