Wolves are still coming down from their astounding high after beating Fulham 4-1 at Craven Cottage.
Gary O’Neil will be overjoyed with his side’s performance in the capital as the Old Gold secured a long overdue three points on the road.
It was the first away win in the Premier League in nine months, reinforcing the quality on show on match day 12.
O’Neil was praised for his confidence against Fulham on an afternoon where several Wolves players stood out.
- READ MORE: Three things we learnt as Wolves demolished Fulham to move out of the Premier League relegation zone
Mario Lemina calls for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde praise
Matheus Cunha was the star of the show against Fulham as the Brazilian scored two sensational goals to stun the hosts.
The forward wasn’t the only player who dazzled at Craven Cottage, considering that captain Mario Lemina played centre-back and excelled.
Wolves’ skipper was so good that Cunha joked that Lemina should play in defence more often however, the man himself has called for the spotlight to have more coverage.
After the win, the Gabon international emphasised that ‘the whole team’ deserved credit as praise was understandably directed at the likes of Cunha and Joao Gomes.
“We need to believe in all of the players we have. Dawson, Santi and Pablo were missing and are all really important for us, but there’s other players as well,” Lemina said via Express and Star.
“JJ [Bellegarde] came back from the bench, is in the starting XI and has an amazing game as well. It’s about the whole team, not just one or two players.”
The Wolves captain applauded the display of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who has had a relatively quiet start to the season, and life at Molineux.
Bellegarde has to step up for Wolves
While it was fair for Lemina to call for wider coverage of praise in the aftermath of the win, there’s still a lot more that needs to be seen from Bellegarde.
The versatile attacker, who was signed for £13m in 2023, is a quality asset to have in the squad however, one thing is certainly missing.
| Jean-Ricner Bellegarde vs Fulham |
| 87 minutes played |
| 32 touches |
| 76% passes completed |
| 50% dribbles completed |
| 3/7 duels won |
O’Neil called on Bellegarde to contribute more goals ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and so far, the Frenchman has two contributions in 11 this term.
While it’s true that the 26-year-old was useful going forward against Fulham, his performance was rather forgetful for the reason that the manager stressed, a lack of output in front of goal.
With competition for places in attack brewing, Bellegarde must take his chances to step up and show the boss what he can truly do.