Matheus Cunha is the name on every Wolves fan’s lips at the moment after he inspired the Old Gold to victory against Man United.
The Brazilian has been on fire so far this campaign. Against Man United, Cunha was exceptional and netted his 10th goal of the season in just 18 matches.
While many in this Wolves squad have struggled to meet the standards they set in the last campaign, the 25-year-old is perhaps the only star who can say he has exceeded them.
His rise to Wolves’ best player has only been a recent one. At the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Cunha looked to be a flop after the club’s record signing only netted twice in 17 matches.
Yet, under former manager Gary O’Neil, he unlocked his potential and has since carried this Wolves side on his back.
Now, looking back on the Englishman’s reign, Cunha has pinpointed when things started to get ‘hard’ under O’Neil.
Matheus Cunha found the end of Gary O’Neil’s reign at Wolves ‘hard’
While Cunha kept performing for Wolves towards the end of O’Neil’s reign, few points were being picked up.
In his last 26 Premier League matches, the Englishman only managed to muster three victories.
His last four matches were particularly grim. O’Neil lost all four ‘must-win’ matches to Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham and Ipswich to put their Premier League status in major jeopardy.
This saw fans turn against O’Neil and players such as Cunha involved in a brawl at full-time vs Ipswich.
Now, the Brazilian has stated that O’Neil’s end was ‘hard’ for him but new manager Vitor Pereira has come in with a new energy.
He said: “It’s the energy, when someone new comes in, they come with the dream to start to win. They start to manage it better. Then everyone feels they need to show him.
“In the end it was a little bit hard with Gary. He was very good to us and brought out team last season to another level. That happens, the team goes down a little bit. I don’t think was only the fault of him, but that can happen. Vitor came in with new energy, with the new dreams, and then everyone’s tried to impress him. These little details then help us on a pitch. You can show everyone the energy changes.”
Wolves have come back to life under Vitor Pereira
It is an understatement to say that before Pereira’s appointment, the club were sleepwalking to relegation.
The fans were outraged, the players had forgotten how to win and the manager looked lost on the touchline.
However, in just over a week, not only has Pereira calmed the waters but he has bred life back into Wolves.
Against Man United, the excitement was back at Molineux as the club took on and beat one of the biggest sides in the country.
While it still is early days, Pereira is proving to everyone why he is so well-perceived in other countries.