Wolves recorded a huge 2-1 win over Manchester City last weekend – and Toti Gomes may just have given Gary O’Neil a big dilemma.
Wanderers shocked everybody at Molineux as they handed City their first Premier League defeat of the season.
O’Neil got his tactical plan spot on.
He decided to bring in Toti and make a back three.
He got Craig Dawson to be touch-tight on Erling Haaland, with Toti and Max Kilman being aggressive against City’s roaming eights Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez.
Wolves pressed from the front, and then made their counter-attacks count with a speedy front three of Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha.
Toti was brilliant against City – and he may now have given O’Neil a headache ahead of the Aston Villa game…
Toti Gomes doesn’t deserve to be dropped after performance vs Manchester City
It is going to be very interesting to see what O’Neil now does against Villa.
His plan on Saturday was tailored to City, who are the best team in world football.
Toti, 24, came in and helped Wolves look much more solid.
Prior to that game, Dawson and Kilman had been struggling a little, and Wolves had been shipping too many goals.
The Portuguese defender has, therefore, surely provided O’Neil with a selection headache.
The issue is that the plan against City was very specific, and it may not work the same against Villa.
But one thing is for sure; Toti does not deserve to go back on the bench after his display last weekend.
It’s a difficult one for O’Neil because a back four is the normal formation now, and it’s the one Wolves spend the most time in and work on the most.
But Toti came into the side last weekend and Wolves won the game. Against a world-class opponent.
We know O’Neil is a fan of his. He recently called him ‘extremely important’ to Wolves, and ‘an exciting player for me and the coaches to get to work with’.
It would be fantastic to see him keep his place, especially with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde still serving his suspension.
There is also the fact that Toti scored the winner against Villa in this fixture last season back in May…