Wolves have taken four points in the Premier League this having not played particularly well – but Pablo Sarabia has taken his chance.
On Tuesday night, Wanderers hosted Burnley at Molineux and recorded a narrow 1-0 win against the Clarets with Hwang Hee-chan the match-winner.
Then on Saturday, Wolves welcomed Nottingham Forest -and fans were hoping for an improved performance. While Wolves did get three points against Burnley, it wasn’t a particularly good display.
But Wolves struggled at times against the Reds and did not appear to have an answer to some pretty solid defending from Steve Cooper’s side, with the game finishing 1-1.
While it’s two pretty poor displays back-to-back for Wolves, Pablo Sarabia has certainly made the most of the show of faith he’s had from Gary O’Neil…
Pablo Sarabia is making things happen for Wolves after show of faith from Gary O’Neil
Sarabia had been struggling for minutes this season. After his amazing cameo against Tottenham Hotspur – after which Tommy Doyle called him ‘incredible’ – he then didn’t see any involvement against Fulham.
But he was finally handed a start – three months after his last – in the Premier League against Burnley.
O’Neil then decided to keep the faith with the Spaniard for the Forest game.
Wolves were not great as a collective in either game, but the statistics indicate that Sarabia was really at the heart of the team’s attacking play.
Across the 148 minutes he played against Burnley and Forest, Sarabia made a very impressive seven ‘key passes’ (three vs Burnley, four vs Forest).
Wolves have needed someone to step up in the absence of Pedro Neto, with the Portuguese winger easily the most creative player in the team.
Sarabia, 31, has done that. While he has been frustrating at times, the numbers do not lie. He also, of course, got the actual assist for Matheus Cunha’s equaliser against Forest, and played an important part in Hwang’s goal against Burnley.
Sarabia can thrive with a run in the team
Sarabia can be guilty of being a bit ponderous sometimes and also lacking physicality.
But it is crystal clear that he is a quality technician, who has a great eye for chance creation. That is crucial with Neto on the sidelines right now.
On the whole, it’s been a bit of an underwhelming stint for Sarabia at Molineux, but maybe this is because he hasn’t had a proper run in the team.
He’s been in English football for nearly a year now and there are clear signs he can play in the Premier League.
He admitted recently that being on the bench a lot was a tricky situation for him because it’s not something he’s been used to at previous clubs.
Perhaps he is a player that will thrive if he is just handed a run of starts. He’s certainly looked pretty handy since O’Neil brought him back in.