Wolves were comfortably beaten by West Ham United yesterday in the Premier League – but Gary O’Neil reserved praise for Pablo Sarabia after the game.
Wolves lost 3-0 at the London Stadium, putting in a pretty woeful performance in the capital.
Mohammed Kudas scored two goals and gave Toti Gomes a torrid afternoon, with Jarrod Bowen adding a third goal in the second-half. Lucas Paqueta set up all three goals and Wolves just couldn’t handle the Brazilian.
Wolves were just all over the place. O’Neil said after the game that three players – Matheus Cunha, Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina – came into the game after struggling with a virus. But all three played yesterday.
It was a lethargic performance from Wolves, although O’Neil did say that Pablo Sarabia worked really hard…
Gary O’Neil says Pablo Sarabia showed ‘excellent’ work rate against West Ham
Wolves have got to improve going forward, with standards having really slipped in the last few games.
Sarabia has been one of Wolves’ better players recently, having come back into the starting XI, and yesterday, he drew praise from his manager for his display.
O’Neil said: “Positives in the game. I know when you lose 3-0 nobody wants to hear them, but I thought Pablo’s work rate in the game was excellent.”
Sarabia did work hard, contesting seven duels but only winning four. But he was the player who lost the ball the most for Wolves (25 times, via Sofascore).
Sarabia thought he’d pulled a goal back for Wolves in the second-half, but after turning in Nelson Semedo’s cross, VAR ruled him marginally offside.
That was a shame, as Wolves had just constructed a really good move.
Sarabia has made an impression on O’Neil
This was Sarabia’s third straight start in the Premier League, and it looks as though he has made an impression on O’Neil.
Wolves were atrocious at times yesterday, but Sarabia probably was one of the better performers for the visitors, although the bar wasn’t very high.
Sarabia continues to struggle from a physical standpoint. He shirks challenges and is guilty of slowing things down at times.
But he does look like the player who’s most likely to make something happen for Wolves at the moment, and while Pedro Neto is unavailable, he probably needs to be in the team.