The reality of Vitor Pereira’s task to keep Wolves in the Premier League has perhaps sunk in after they were beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United.
It was always going to be a tough ask going to Newcastle United and winning, especially as Wolves have never kept a clean sheet at St James’ Park.
The Premier League strugglers were indeed on the receiving end of an Alexander Isak masterclass, with the Swedish superstar scoring twice and assisting once.
Vitor Pereira’s men were simply outclassed in most departments as they found it tough to live with the relentless pressing and energy of their opponents.
While the difference in quality was visible, Wolves didn’t help themselves, putting themselves in danger on numerous occasions.
In one instance, Hwang Hee-chan was slammed by the Wolves fans for a huge error he made in the game, and it ended up costing his side.
Vitor Pereira was ‘furious’ with Hwang Hee-chan vs Newcastle
To stand any chance of delivering a positive result, Wolves had to be perfect in most departments but unfortunately, Hwang set the tone for a difficult night.
The confidence-shot forward was at fault for the first goal the visitors conceded. Hwang had the defender isolated one vs one on the edge of their box.
However, instead of taking him on and driving into the penalty area, the South Korean decided to turn back and give possession away easily.
This allowed Newcastle to break at speed going from their half to scoring in an instant, with Isak’s deflected strike beating Jose Sa.
It was a goal that ultimately could have been avoided and Pereira was ‘furious’ with Hwang on the sidelines, as pointed out by journalist Nathan Judah on X.
Pereira shouldn’t have started Hwang vs Newcastle
With Matheus Cunha returning from his ban ahead of this clash, Pereira resisted the temptation of starting the Brazilian straight away and instead persisted with Hwang in his front three.
This proved to be a costly decision, as Hwang produced his latest abysmal display in a Wolves shirt, while Cunha replaced him at half-time and he made a huge difference.
While the Brazilian was unable to rescue a positive result for his side, he made multiple driving runs and tested Martin Dubravka with strikes on goal.
Some brilliance from Cunha was their most likely route back into the game, and although he was unable to provide it, the 25-year-old is nailed on to start next time out, replacing the £70k-a-week man in the lineup.