Wolves slipped to an agonising late defeat in the Premier League to Manchester City at Molineux on Sunday.
Wanderers battled hard against the champions, and defended much better than in recent games after a formation change.
But unlike last season, it didn’t pay off for Gary O’Neil. But Wolves were unlucky in the end.
After taking the lead through Jorgen Strand Larsen, Josko Gvardiol scored a stunning equaliser which game Jose Sa no chance.
Then, right at the death, John Stones scored a header from a corner. It was initially flagged for offside against Bernardo Silva, but the goal was awarded once he was deemed not to be interfering.
It was a sickener for Wolves, but Gary Neville reckons the Wolves manager will have liked what he saw.
Gary Neville admits Gary O’Neil will be enthused by Wolves’ performance v Man City
Gary Neville recently commentated on Wolves’ game with Liverpool.
Neville said the situation was ‘really worrying’ for Wolves, and that he felt there wasn’t a positive nature to the performance against the Reds.
Neville was also left frustrated by Wolves’ lack of intent at the end of that contest.
The Sky Sports pundit was speaking about the game between Wolves and City on his podcast, and feels that O’Neil will genuinely be feeling positive about the performance at Molineux against the champions.
He said: “Wolves, to be fair, I thought, I watched them a couple of times and I thought they were in real trouble. I think they are really struggling, but I think Gary O’Neil will be, I think he will be enthused by today, I think he will be happy with what he saw, but he will be absolutely devasted at the end.”
A sickener for Wolves but positives were there
Sunday’s defeat was a real sickener for Wolves, as the game plan was right all the way through and was so close to earning the team a point.
There is no a real argument for Wolves to stick to their tried and tested back three, which has served them so well over the years.
It may have been another defeat, but there were clear positives for Wolves, who did not have one single weak performer on the day.
There is another tough game against Brighton coming, but then there are four easier-on-paper games for Wolves and if this level of performance is replicated against those sides then Wolves will surely start getting points on the board.