Matheus Cunha was the star of the show as Wolves secured an invaluable three points against Southampton.
Wolves scored their quickest Premier League goal ever when Pablo Sarabia rounded Aaron Ramsdale to score inside two minutes after being assisted by Matheus Cunha.
The Brazilian’s powerful run and incisive pass helped unlock the Saints’ defence while in the second half, it was his brilliantly curled effort that doubled the Wanderers’ lead.
Cunha carried the game by the scruff of the neck against Southampton, netting his fifth goal and supplying his second assist of the campaign, yet Gary O’Neil still feels he can get better in one part of his game.
Gary O’Neil explains where Matheus Cunha can improve
Since arriving from Atletico Madrid for £44 million, Cunha has got better with each passing game and he’s now inarguably O’Neil’s most important player.
The 25-year-old always looks the most likely to unlock the opponent’s defence for Wolves, doing so on several occasions this term.
O’Neil hailed Cunha for his ‘magic’ and labelled him a ‘maverick’ after the match but the Wanderers boss also explained one area he can improve.
He believes the Brazilian can do better with his work off the ball. As per Nathan Judah on X, O’Neil said: “We may lack quality in moments and we did today. But we’ve got Matheus Cunha to unlock that magic. He’s a maverick but needs to do better off the ball.”
Cunha is nearly faultless in his work on the ball, usually picking the right pass or producing a moment of brilliance. However, the Wolves boss is demanding his star forward to improve his work off the ball and that is a minor change for someone so brilliant.
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Cunha stats vs Southampton
In a game that required moments of quality, Cunha produced that for his side, as Southampton failed to carve open O’Neil’s defence.
Aside from his involvement in the final third, the Brazilian was integral to their work in the build-up, completing 88% of his passes and two key passes, as per Sofascore.
Cunha also supplied three accurate long balls to his teammates while getting through some important defensive work, winning four ground duels, making one tackle and drawing one foul.
It was a complete display from the Brazilian, who proved once more how invaluable he is in Wolves’ fight for survival this term.