Wolves beat Everton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night to gain some confidence going into the Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
Fresh from that dismal defeat to Leeds United, Wolves were back at Molineux against the Toffees – and turned in a quietly impressive performance.
Vitor Pereira switched to a back four to the surprise of many, but the tweak paid dividends, with Wanderers looking much more solid.
Marshall Munetsi put Wolves ahead in the first-half, turning in after Jhon Arias saw a well controlled volley saved by Mark Travers.
Everton applied some pressure in the second-half, but Wolves stood firm before Tolu Arokodare wrapped up the win with a sublime finish.
It was by no means a top performance from Wolves. But it was much better than most of what we’ve seen so far this season and crucially, Wanderers looked much better at the back – something Munetsi was keen to acknowledge after the game.
Marshall Munetsi praises Wolves defence after Everton win
For most of the season, Wolves have defended shockingly.
Unfortunately, Pereira has been unable to bring about the same solidity as he did last season.
Star performer of last term Emmanuel Agbadou has been alarmingly bad, and Toti Gomes has also really struggled at times.
Neither of those players started last night, with Pereira going with a flat back four that included Santiago Bueno and Ladislav Krejci.
Wolves fans hailed Krejci for his assured performance, and Bueno was also widely praised.
The two full-backs, Matt Doherty and Hugo Bueno, were also solid, as was goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who fans are calling to replace Jose Sa as the number one.
Speaking after the game, Munetsi said (via Wolves official): “It’s a great feeling, but hats off to the defence, because they were really solid today.
“To get a clean sheet was very important, because we’ve been conceding goals, especially in the first half. So, scoring was good, but also having the clean sheet in the first 45 minutes was very, very important for us today.”
- READ MORE: Six things we learned from Wolves’ Carabao Cup win over Everton as Andre dazzles at Molineux
Wolves’ defence vs Everton has given Pereira a major selection headache
Last night’s performance and win against Everton was encouraging, and one of the biggest positives of the night was how much more assured Wolves looked at the back.
In previous games this season, Wolves’ backline has been all over the place.
Krejci and Bueno are more composed players than the likes of Agbadou, Toti and Yerson Mosquera, and perhaps that is what the defence has been crying out for.
Krejci looks a top player, and Bueno has quietly been very solid across all the games he’s played so far.
Some would not be too upset if Pereira stuck with the same defence he used for Everton going forwards.
But we’ll see what he does for Tottenham – certainly, that team sheet will be fascinating as it always is.