Wolves are through to the third round of the Carabao Cup after beating Burnley 2-0 at Molineux.
After being thrashed 6-2 by Chelsea at the weekend, big improvements were needed against the Clarets, and Gary O’Neil made several changes to his starting XI.
Thankfully, Wolves did deliver last night.
A number of players who came into the side impressed, including youngster Pedro Lima who was making his competitive debut at right-back.
Santi Bueno also put in a solid display in defence.
But the biggest headline-maker was probably Goncalo Guedes, who got both of Wolves’ goals. His second was a wonderful dinked finish over goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
Guedes was ultimately the difference last night, and former winger Pedro Neto was among those to react to his exploits.
Goncalo Guedes hits brace for Wolves against Burnley, Pedro Neto reacts
Guedes was picked to lead the line last night, with Jorgen Strand Larsen dropping to the bench after starting against both Arsenal and Chelsea.
Guedes returned to the Wolves squad earlier this summer after loan spells with Benfica and Villarreal last season.
His involvement for Wolves over the past few weeks has been something of a surprise, given the narrative with him has long been that he doesn’t want to be at Molineux and will be leaving.
But the picture has changed recently, with O’Neil reintegrating him. Seemingly, Guedes has been quite happy as well.
It will be fascinating to see what happens with him before Friday’s 11pm transfer deadline. O’Neil did say after last night’s game that he expected the player to stay.
Many are now hoping that proves to be the case, as Guedes might just be the additional cover O’Neil really needs.
He certainly showed great finishing last night against Burnley, with his second goal especially good.
And it was so good that it prompted a response from Pedro Neto, who left three heart-eyes emojis on Instagram after seeing the clip.
Matheus Cunha also sent a message to Guedes via his Story. He said: “Congratulations muleke Guedes! You are worth it 🫶🏽”
Guedes showed he’s worth trying to keep
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Few, if any, Wolves fans will have seen this Guedes redemption arc coming a couple of months back.
It has been crazy to see him come back into the picture at Molineux given everything that has been written.
He could yet still leave before Friday’s deadline. But his exit now certainly feels nowhere near as likely as it did earlier this summer.
On the evidence of last night, £27.5 million signing Guedes could still definitely play a big part for Wolves this season if he wanted to. He took both his goals really well, and Wolves could just do with someone else capable of playing through the middle.
If Daniel Podence goes, then Wolves should absolutely be trying to keep hold of him.